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LEABHAR NAN GLEANN:
THE BOOK OF THE . . GLENS . . .
ZIMMER ON PICTISH MATRIARCHY
BY
GEORGE HENDERSON, Ph.D.
EDINBURGH : NORMAS MACLEOD, The Mound.
INVERNESS : 'Tub Highland News" Printing Woeks.
ihfiRARY ACCESSION
PREFATORY NOTE.
rnSE following pages are reprinted from ^l^ "The Highland Home Journal," the -L weekly supplement of "The Highland News," where they appeared for the first time.
The sweet voices associated in my memory with so many of them, I know, I shall hear no more, and yet they abide with me in spirit. If for a little time they may enable any one else to share in a portion of the joy given me, my aim will have been amply fulfilled. My original intention was to restrict myself entirely — as I have to a good extent done— to unpublished sources, and to have included some Gaelic romances. When I had proceeded but a part of the way I had mapped out, inner considerations led me to offer some transliterations from the Fernàig MS., actuated in part also by a suggestion given by the editors in their preface. To give the whole, space fails me; but what is here given includes an interesting portion, and, perhaps, what is in all respects of most permanent significance. It was not my aim to obliterate dialectal traits unnecessarily. The shroud of the traditional orthography would here have often marred the living form; but I liave no quarrel with the rigid traditional scrjpt in its place. May I ven- ture to hope therefore that, as it is, my reading of Macrae's often puzzling, incon- Bistent phonetic spelling, does no great in- justice to a noble voice, which is to me daily deepening a long-cherished fondness for Kintail. Macrae's work lets us have a glimpse of more than one side of Highland
ir.
cbaracter from the Eeformation to the Revolution. It is a side not generally known. There were then other Highlandera also whose literary interest was not confined within their own narrow eurroundings. But they were not so fortunate in transmitting the evidence, and it is not likely that there were many such whose character in interest and attractiveness could, as a whole, vie with hia. He had a profoundly interior mind, and had absorbed the greatest heri- tage of mankind — an absorption to which he often gave utterance in a form of great beauty.
In a MS. which passed through my hands at Oxfoi'd more than once, I noticed on the final folio two lines of Gaelic poetry, in part obscured, with a signature underneath as clear as if it were written yesterday. MS. Bodleian Selden, B. 24, was written in Scot- land, as shown by an entry — "Nativitas principis nri Jacobi qnarti anno dni Mmo iiii. Ixxii. xvii. die mensis martii viz in festo sancti Patricij confessoris. In mon- asterio ste crucis prope Edinburgh." It must have been written in the Monastery at Edinburgh soon after 1472. It contains some of Chaucer's minor poems and poems attributed to Chaucer; also the unique copy of the Kingis Quair (i.e.. Book), by King James I. of Scotland, edited for the Scot- tish Text Society by Skeat, who takes this manuscript to be a somewhat faulty tran- script from a fairly good original. The scribe is somewhat reckless in his way of attributing pieces to Chaucer. The poem by our King of happy memory was copied haJf- a-centuiy after its composition, and is not all in one hand. This unique MS. must have afterwards passed into the possession of a well-known Highland worthy, who haa hÌB finely-written signature attached to two lines of Gaelic poetry, in the Gaelic literary
hand — "Mise Domlinull Gorni." This hand- writing:, of course, is entirely different from the handwriting: of the MS. itself, and is in every way a finer hand. Curiously enough, Skeat makes mo reference to it either in his edition of the Kingis Quair or in his "Minor Poems of Chaucer." Perhaps the forthcoming' volumes of "The Clan Donald" may contain, minutiae to justify a further inference. Anyhow, DomhnuU Gorm's name is a link in the history of the MS., aoid his name is also referred to in the Fernaig-: —
"Ni air mhaireann fir Innse-Gall Mor an call dom r'a m' aois Ceannard an t-sloigh Domhnull Gorm Is Ruaraidh nan com 's nam pios."
I am beholden to Heinrich Zimmer, the illustrious Professor of Sanskrit and Com- parative Philology, University of Greifs- wald, Prussia, whose many-sided learning and insight throws a glory upon the German name, for gracious permission to render his paper on the Pictish Matriarchate, which ia included in the present volume. Some of the notes to that paper I have found it best to incorporate in the text, and the classical quotations are done into English. No greater master of critical Gaelic learn- ing has arisen, and it is good to look at this tantalizing problem with his eyes.
The airs to the words on pages 113, 117, 122, 144, 166, and 173 of this book are to be found on pages 16, 29, 13, 24, 27, and 26 respectively of the supplement now- appearing to the "Gesto Collection of High- land Music," by Dr K. N. Macdonald. It is with great pleasure I turn over its pages, as thus far in this matter I find my own judgment quite unexpectedly and inde- pendently confirmed. Naturally, oral ver- sions are different in different districts. I have been careful to keep the dialectal words.
IV.
e.g., "Thig^ a samliradh le ruthadli" is the title in the Gresto Supplement, p. 29, where I have "Thig an sambradh s am futhar." "Futhar with me means the "dog days," equivalent to the time of the year termed "an luchar." One speaks also of "futhar an earraich" and of "futhar an fhoghair," i.e., "the fall" of autumn. It ought perhaps to be written "fixghar."
The unusual word "oistig" was confirmed to me by Mrs Macdonell of Keppoch; it is founded on the Scotch "oist" — a sacrifice — from L. "hostia." This piece and several others I owe to the goodness of my dear friend, the Eev. Allan Macdonald, a worthy scion of the House of Keppoch.
To the various friends — happily, still with ns — ^who have stimulated, whether by thought or word or deed, I am profoundly grateful, and I hereby ask each of them to accept my heart-felt thanks —
"Quosqne ego fraterno dilexi more sodales, O mihi Thesea pectora juncta fide ! Dum licet, amplectar."
AN CLAR.
Page-
Matriarchy among the Picts i
The Pabbay Poet 43
Caismeachd na h-Airde 106
Tuireadh 109
Oran SCigraidh m
Mo chruinneag dhonn 113
Fior thoisich an t-samhraidh 115
Thig an sarahradh s am futhar 117
Gur mise ta na m' èiginn 119
FèiU Leor nam-Manach 121
Comhiuadar Siigraidh 122
Oran an iasgair 124
Cumha 125
Mise tha trom ainneulach 127
Alastair Torraidh 129
Do sgoth 131
Do dh'fhear Chille-Bride 132
Oran Sheumais Mhoir 133
Cumha do Dhomhnull Foirbeis - - - -134
Marbhrann do Mhr Aonghas Lochabair - - 138
Ràbhadh Mhic Shimi - *- - • - - 140
Labhair Acham faichdeil rium 141
Laoidh na ban-fhighich 142
Nighean donn a Còrnaig 144
An t-Urramach Ailein Macilleathain - - - 146
An t-Urramach Aonghas Donullach - - - 151
Hatha nan tri righrean 161
Marbhrann le sagart bha'nn am Mòrar - - - 163
Oran an amadain bhoidhich 165
Cumha 169
Eolas an Dèididh 171
Nach b'fheàrr leat mi bhi agad 171
Se dhuisg gu grad a'm' shuain mi - - - - '73
Mi air ionndrainn a ghaisgich 175
Mi learn fhin air an tulaich 177
Ealaidh le Huistean Donn Siosal - - - - 179
Iain Ghlinne Cuaich iSo
Taisbean Adhamhnain, o Leabhar na h-Uidhri - 183
Fear na Pàirce 198
An t-Easbuig Carsewell 211
Sir Iain Stiubhart na h-Apuinn 218
Crosanachd Ille Bhrid 223
Alastair Monro, Strathnabhair 226
Donnachadh nam Pios 229
Appendix I.— On Farquhar Macrae - - - 294 Appendix II. — On Duncan Macrae - - • 300 Appendix III. — On Gaelic Testimony as to Matri- archy and the Couvade - - 301
READ
Sovereignty, pp. 17, 1. 15, and 18, Is. 15 and 21 ; Jupiter, 23, y ; infirmities, 25, 11 ; Scarista, 43, 2 ; dh'iasgach, chur sa bbradan, 74, x., a and b; tùrsach, Tg, in. ; gliin, 86, vin. ; faicear for faisear, 88, vi. ; Donn, p. 144 ; da, not do, p. 144, 1. II ; Crosanachd, p. 198 ; oistig, not oifig, 139, 21 ; diulnach, 92, z ; bhuail, 95, 2, not bhuil ; giiilan, 95, i ; gun, 96, V, not gum ; droch, 90, vii., not drochd ; aca, p. 91, xin., s, belongs to line 4 ; tighinn a nuas s piob chiùil rompa, in 93, iv., is 1. 6 of vii., p. 94 ; easbhuidh, 102, iv. , cad or iad, not ear, p. 97; Bruiach, 108, not Bruaich; ioghnadh, 155, 12 Abstol, 183, 31 ; daormhuinn, 207, vil.
MATRIARCHY AMONG
THE PICTS.
FROM THE GERMAN* OF
H E I N R I C H Z I M ^I E R.
CHAPTER I.
H [THEE TO ill a discussion of the question as to whether among the peoples of the Aryan family with their social oiuer based upon Pat- riarchy (the right of succession on the father's side), another social order has preceded, in which Matriarchy (hence, with attention solely directed to birth) was dominant, and whether among some peoples of the Aiyan family certain actual forms of law are to be regarded as rudimentary organs in the body politic of these peoples — in discussii]^ these questions it is sur- prising one has not considered the juridical situation which existed centuries long in historic timea among the independent non- Aryan primitive populations of Britain, stUl less the verdict of the surrounding Aryan Celts of the British Isles upon the same. From the importance of the ques- tions mentioned for the science of Aryan antiquity, further discussion, it seems to me, is well in place. I prefix a bird'a-eye view of the historical situation.
Csesar, during his stay among the coast tribes of South East Britain, heard there
* ZeiUchrift der Sa\ igny-Stiftuni,' fiir R^c-htSKtsehichte XV Rom. Abth ^'el•laJJ: von Hermann Bohlau in Weimar.
were in Central Britain peoples who re- garded themselves as the primitive inhabi- tants of the land in contrast to the Celts of the coasts, who were of kin to the Gauls. (Bellum Gallicum v. 12). After Caesar's departure it was close upon a century (97 years) ere Roman legions set foot agaia upon the soil of Britain (43 a.d.). Within, forty years they opened up the island — lengthwise, from the Sussex shores to th» Firths of Forth and Clyde, bread^thwise, from the coasts of Norfolk to the isle of Anglesey (Mona). Numerous peoples
came within their ken and were subjected. If one excepts the Silures who dwelt north of the Bristol Channel in the South Wales of the present day (Glamorgan, Breck- nock), it did not occur to the Eomans that any of the numerous peoples they con- quered— as far north as the Firth of Forth and Clyde — were anywise of a different stock from the south-eastern tribes of (the then) Sussex, Ejent, and Essex. Even if here and tiiere — perhaps still at Ceesar's time- there had been primitive non-Celtic abori- giuald — in the middle of the first century- after Christ all was Celticized. In the isle of Anglesey, so far removed from the south ooast of Britain lay the central seat of the religious and national resistance of the British Celts. "Novae gentes*" (Tacitus
* Tacitus (Germ. 20), with reference to the Germans, speaks of the " mighty Ìiml)s and frames that we see with so much admiration," and (c. i) says they " all possess the same physical cliaracteristics— fierce, blue eyes, red hair, and large frames, which are good only for a spurt ; they certainly have not a corresponding power of endurance for hard work." The following is what Tacitus (died about lis A.D.) says on the races of Britain :—" Whether the earliest inhabitants of Britain were an indigenous or an invading race is, as might be e.xpected to be the case with barbarians, an open question. Some evidences, however, may be drawn from the difference of physique that prevail. The red hair and the lar^e limbs of the Caledonian people, testify to a German origin. The swarthy complexion of the Silures [in South Wales] and the frequency of curling hair among them, with the fact that Spain lies opposite their district, lead us to believe that the ancient Iberians
AgTÌcola 22), however, appeared — and indeed "novao" (new) in another sense than th& Ordo\-ices, Brigantes, and others had been — when Agricola pushed beyond the line of the Firths of Forth and Clyde and prepared to threaten the remaining northern portion of the island; these are the inhabitants of Caledonia, "popixli Caledoniam incolentes. Eutilae comae, magni artus Germanicam otiginem adseverant," says Agricola's son- in-law in the passage where he classifies the remaining inhabitants of Britain according- to language, manners, and other character- istics among the Gauls (Tacitus Agricola c 11).
The difference from the Celtic Britons- must have been strongly marked, even if the reference to Germanic origin is worth- less. Already in the first half of the second century Ptolemy gives a list of names of these independent Caledonian peoples dis- tinct from the British Celts. In the days of Constantine, for the first time, in 310 the name "Pioti" turns up in the Gaulish panegyrist Eumenius as inclusive denotation
[probably the ancestors of the Basque] crossed the sea and settled in those parts. The tribes that dwell nearest to the Gauls are likewise similar to them. It may be because they were originally descended from them, and still show- it ; or because, though the countries extend in opposite directions, the climate has produced similarity of physique. On the whole, however, it seems most likely to have been the case that the Gauls established themselves on an island so close to them. You find their religious rites [Druidism] in Britain as also their ingrained superstition ; there is not much difference between the languages.' Both races are equally bold in defWng any danger before- hand, and equally timorous in running away from it when it arrives. The Britons, however, display more spirit, for they have never yet been long enough at peace to grow tame. History tells us that the Gauls were great warriors once. Since that day a life of ease has bred in them an unwarlike temper, and with their liberty they have lost their \alour. A similar change has come over those of the Britons who were conquered sometime ago, the rest are what the Gauls once were." (Townshend's Trans.) — The red hair and large limbs assigned by Tacitus to the Caledonians does not by any manner of meana allow of kinship with the Iberians who had that swarthy complexion which does not go along with red hair.— G. H
fox- the whole, a name that thence sticks to thein among the Latin writers. According to Anunianus Marcellinus, in 368 .a.d., the "Picti" were di\aded into two chief groups . "Dicalidonas" and "Vecturionesi" (lib. xxvii., c 8) ; this will be the same twofold division which, according to the excerpts of Xiphilin (s Mouunienta histor. Brita-nnica I., s Iv.) is already known to Dio Cassius in the days of Severus, where ho mentions that the independent peoples north of the Firtha of Forth and Clyde are composed of two gene: "Kaledonioi kai M^aiatai (s Ix. of above). This two- fold division in the third and fourth century is all the more interest- ing because the Picts in the days of €oluniba (second half of the sixth century), nay, even in Eede's time (died 735), when they still formed an independent state, were so classified : the classification "australea Picti" (Bede's History iii. 4) and "septen- trionales Picti, transmontani Picti" (v. 9) corresponds exactly to the Maiatai and Ealedonioi in the excerpts of Xiphilin.
To the Eoman supremacy in Britain, by this time restricting itself to a defensive policy in consequence of the other conditions of the Empire, and to the Britons, the Celtic subjects of the same, the Picts, since the days of Severus, were become a stand- ing menace. This same, from the middle of the fourth century onwards waxed greater in that the Picts found allies for their incur- sions in the inhabitants of neighbouring Ireland. From two points of North-West Britain, from Gallowav and Cantyro, in clear weather one sees the coast of North-East Ireland (Down and Antrim) distinctly. As on his fifth campaign, Agi-icola sojourned in these regions, an Irish chieftain put in Lis appearaaice and sought to persuade Agricola to effect a landing in Ireland (Tacitus Agricola 4). The bond of alliance
•wliicli for their plundering incursions tho Picts foimd among the Scotti is accordingly easily nndcrstood. When in tho first deca.tlo of the fifth cemtury tho Eoman troopa were finally withdrawn from Britain, the "Picti"' and the "Scotti" then pitched themselves in against tlie nnarmod and defencelesd "Brittones," as the Briton Gildas one hun- dred years later portrays in the introduction to his Epistola, in Jeremiad tones. In the second half of the fifth century two events led to a bringing ahout of a consolidatdon; of affairs in North Britain, north of a line drawn from Morecambe Bay in the West to the estuary of the Tees in the East. On the East Coast, south and north of Hadrian's Wall, Germanic Angles settle<l themselves fast, and founded the two English states, Deira and Bernicia, which in the course of things became incoi-porated in the powerful state of Northumbria. On the West Coast, in the present county of Argyle, Irish from the counties of Antrim and Down made an abiding settlement, and founded on the west coast of Britain an Irish state, which more and more strove to subdue the original inhabitants of Britain north of the Firths of Forth and Clyde (the Picts), just as the Angles sought to do with their British neighbours south of the same. The political edifice of North Britain in the 7th century was as follows: — North of the Firths of Forth and Clyde existed two kingdoms^ separated through tho so-called mountainous- chain, "Dorsum AlbaJiiae" (Druim Alban) ; that on the west coast, at first the smaller, was the kingdom of the Scots CIrish), that on the east coast, the larger, stretching as far as the Orkneys, the kingdom of the- Picts. South of the boundary named there were likewise two kingdoms; on the west coast as continuation of the Scottish state to the south, a state of the British Celts, the
kingdom of the Nortli Cymri (Cumbria), embracing the Scottish counties of Dum- fries, Ayr, Lanark, and the English Cumber- land, Westmoreland; parallel thereto on the cast coast as continuation of the Pictish state to the south, was the kingdom of the Angles, Northumberland. In the confusion which the Yikings, from the end of the 8th century onwards, brought upon Great Britain, the Scottish King, Kenneth Mac- Alpin, managed, about 844, to get possession ■of the Pictish throne, and thus to found a united Scoto-Pictish kingdom (Alba), north ■of the line of the Firths of Forth and Clyde.
Exactly 100 years lat.er the English ruler Eadmund, who possessed Northumberland, and Malcolm, ruler of the Irish-Pictish state, Scotland, made an end of the then still existing British state on the west coast, south of the boundary so repeatedly referred to, and divided it between them such that the IrLsh-Pictish state, Scotland, extended ^so south of this border line. Through fully 500 years, until the downfall of the Pictish kingdcjm, the Irish (Scotti) were most closely bound up with the Picts; first they are confederates of the Picts, then burdensome friends, who no more return liome; finally, after they have Christianized them, and hngually assimilated them — the northern Picts, at least — they take away from them their independence. That we must, first and foremost, question these good friends of the Picts if we are to learn more about the Pictish stock is clear. And we learn many things. The Irish name for the Picts is "Cruthentuath (Cruithentuath) i.e., Cruthen- folk (tuath"); the individual Pict is called Cruithne, or Cruthnech (Cruithnech), two formations from "Cruthen," in "Cruthen- tuath," like Latin "patrius" and "patricus," from "pater." In Irish Saga, semi-historical
■works, annals, &c., the three words are so ■common that to give contexts were to carry ■coals to Newcastle. Etymologically these ■words are very interesting. From the earUest time down to the present day "cruth" is one -of the words most used in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. It means fisrure, form; it glosses tho Latin "forma." The denominative verb "cruthai<rim" occurs in countless glosses of the St Gall Priscian, with the meaning "form." Hence it is evident that tiie Irish designation •of the Picts as Cruthen-tolk betokens the same as the Latin "Picti," which Mommsen (Hist, ■of Eome, 5.173) translates "Tattooed." "Crutheutuath" is "the folk ot the tattoo," of those provided with "cruths," with figures, ■with forms. If one puts alongside of this that the Britannic Celts (the Cymri) originally ■designated the Picts in like fashion, in that ■they — as we shall see in the course of the ■discussion — used the same word as the Irish, ■only with a change in consonance with their own Celtic dialect, the supposition lies close at hand that the Latin designation "Picti," which turns up about the year 300 a.d., is but a Latin translation of the word which the Romans in North Britain heard from the Celticized iintoiis*
The primitive inhabit^ants of that portion of l^orth Ireland, which nowadays forms the counties of Down and Antrim, although they are completely GaeKcized, are in an old Saga text, further in Adamnan, Columba's biogra- pher (died, "04;, in Muirchu's Notes upon Patrick, -wiitten about 690 a.d., finally in Tigemach's Annals, and in the Ulster Annals,
* Picti can scarcely- be separated froiii the Gaulish Pietavi, now Poitere, says Mr Ma<;l)ain, who, while disallowing' a Latin derivation, iiuotes H. Ir. ciclit, and is inclined to leave the idea of tattooin<; intact. But -Zimmer's reasoninj,' could apjily to some parts of Gaul. There are no reasons to suppose tlia'. the Gauls were an unmixed race, they had their non-Aryan element. It is with the Pictish customs that we are, however, here erectly concerned.
frequently called CruitUne "Picts." In the old North Irish Saga text — the Cattle- Spoil of Cooley (Tain Bo Cnahige), it is related ia the Book of the Dnn recension that the Queen of Connaught had devastated the territory of the Ulster men and of the Picts as far as Duusewerick on the north coast of Antrim. "For sligi Midluachra diuo dochoidsi doindriud Ulad ocus Cruthne condice Dunsobairche," L.U., 70a, 33). In two other places of the same text in the Book of Leinster recension, this pillaging incursion in North Ireland Ì3 described as the "devastation of the Ulstermen and the Picts" ("indriud Ulad ocus Cruthni," LL. 92a, 48-95b, 47V The present day Dunsewerick is accordingly the most northerly point of the Picts of Ireland. According to the notices written about 690 a.d. upon Patrick, "mons Mis" Hes in the territory of the "Cruidneorum" (Book of Armagh, fol. 3a 1 in Stokes's Tripartite Life of Patrick II., p. 276). "Mons Mis" is in pure Irish "sliab Mis" — that is the present day Slemish itì County Antrim. Eeeves, in his edition of Adamnan's Vita Columbae (Dublin, 1857, p. 94, note H), has collected the passages from Adamnan and from the annals showing that the completely GaeUcized inhabitants of Down and Antr'm were still designated Picts (Cruithiie). I g»«5'5ct but the one given by Adamnau, who wrote about 697 a.d. to tha effect that the famous Irish Abbot of Bangor, in Ulster, named Comgall, instructor of St Gallus as well as of Columban, the renowned founder of Bobbio, that Comgall, whom we know with certainty to have been bom in County Down (circa. 517 a.d.), was of Pictish descent (Vita Columbae I., 49). In the Nortii of Ireland in the seventh century one was stiU aware tuat the Gaehc-speaking population of the then Down and Antrim was of Pictish lineage, of the same blood as the inhabitants of Caledonia, then the complete Gaelicizatioa
of tliis now Celtic mass in the two counties cannoi have been of really verv long standing. From this district of Ireland, however, princi- pally came, in accordance with geographical position, the "Scotti" (Trish), who from the middle of the fouiih century assist the "Picta of Britain; thence came certainly the Irish, who at the end of the fifth century and in the present day Argyll founded an Irish state upon British soil : these Irish are really only in part Aryan Celts, in greater part Gaelicized Picts from Ireland, and this explains much of the great civilising influence which the small Irish state on the west coast of North Britain wielded over the much more extensive Pictish state of North Briiam.
The Picts accordingly formed the pre-Aryan (pre-Celtic) primitive population of Britain and of Ireland. On British soil they had been subdued and Celticized in tlie last cjuarter of the first century of our era, with the exception of the independent tribes of Caledonia. In Ireland it was still remembered that the basic- stock of the nopulation of the north-east belonged to the same race as the Picts of Caledonia. In reference to tlie Picts, Beda relates, in his "Life of Cuthbert," c. 11, that the same had come "ad terram Pictorum qui Niduarii vocantur." Niduarii are the dwellers of the Nith (Nidd, in Bede. Hist. Ecel., 5, 19), the eastern border river in Galloway, on the Solway Firth. It is quite well possible that in this corner of the Irish Sea a Pictisli renuiant had for a longer time preserved itself amid Celtic surroundings, so that one was well aware in Bede's time that the inhabitants of that district were of Pictish descent, just as at the same time they knew in Ireland that the basic- stock of the Irish population of Antrim and Down was of Pictish descent. Testimonies from Irish literature that preserve the remem- brance that in other parts of Ireland than in those named, to wit, Connaught and Meath,
1«
10
Picts liad once settled is adduced by Herbert in liis "Additional Notes to Todd's Leabhar Breatlinaeli" (Dublin, 1848). One proof I will add from the language of the Celtic Britons that the Picts once inhabited the whole island of Britain. The two races of the island Celts, the Celtic Britons and the Celtic Irish, are split lingually from tne beginning of docu- mentary evidence on the phonological side, like the Latiu-Falisciau and the Umbrian-Sabellic jDeoplos of Italy. Just as here we luive on the one side "coquina," "quadrii-," '"quod," "quis," "quae," on the other side "popina," "petur-," "pod," "pis," "pai," so, in like manner among- the island-Celts, save that in Ireland the old "qu" had already got to be pronounced like pure "k," as in the French "quatre," "quand," "quinze," &c., thus parallel to the Scoto-(Irish)-Celtic "mac," "cenn," "ech, ' "cruim," "each," we have the "Brito-Celtic fCymric) "map," "penn," "cp," "pryf," "paup" ("pop"). Quite similarly and sound for sound to the Irish "cruth" (figure, form), on which the Irish name for the Picts is based ("Cruthentuath," "Cruthne," "Crutliuech"), correspond Old Cymric "prit," Middle Cymric "pryd," with the same mean- ing. Phonologically, to the Irish "Cruitnne" (from the proto-Celtic "Crutenios"), mediaeval Welsh "Prydein," from "Prutemos," must correspond exactly, and thus throughout the Middle Ages until the present day Britain is called in Welsh "Tnys Prydein" (Isle of the Picts). The present day Welsh unconsciously testify still that Britain, ere the Celts' arrival, was the "Pictish Isle." Where we are to look for the kinsmen of this pre-Celtic population of the British Isles cannot, to my thinking, to say it shortly, be made out. The attempts to show that they are allied to the primitive Finnish-Esthonian population of North-East Europe scarcely deserve consideration. Khy's recent attempt, too ("Proceedings of the
11
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1892, pp- 263-351), acute as it is, to connect them, tbrousfh help of present-day Basque, with the Iberian population of South-West Exirope, I cannot approve. Under the influence of their lingually Gaelicized kinsmen, the "trans- montani" fseptentrionales") "Picti" became Gaelic-speaking at an early period. When Colnmba, in the second half of the sixth cen- tury, brought them Christianity from lona, only in intercourse with the common people did ho v<^riuire the aid of an interpreter, but no longer in int«rcourse with the King and the Court. The introduction of Christianity through the Irish hastened the lingual Gaelic- izatiiiu ot these Picts. At the end of the fourth century missionary Celtic Britons had already introduced Christianity among the Southern Picts. The higher culture acquired tmder Eoman dominion by the North British Celts, with whom, after the withdrawal of the Eomans, the Southern Picts were in close contact, hastened the lingual Celticization (Welshifying in this case) of the Southern Picts. Many of the Pictish names handed ; down from the sixth century are accordingly '■ either Iro-Celtic (Gaelic), or Brito-Celtic (Cymric), just as in each case they come from the Northern, or the Southern Picts, and where the names are certainly non-Celtic they bear the impress, each according to origin, of Irish or of Brythonic phonology. The linguistic material suffices to let tis see that the language of the pre-Celtic inhabi- tants of the British Isles was not Aryan (Indo-Germanic), but more it does not reveal. In the case of the linguistic remains of the Etruscans in Italy, of the Lykians in Asia Minor, which are infinitely more extensive than is the case in Pictish, the result of investigation is — so many heads, so many opinions. That should, in the case of Pictish, ■nithliold us from a useless learned waste of
12
time. Any further moment of truth than the absolutely insufficient ling-uistic one in support of the Iberian origin of the Picts has not been brought forward. So long as in this state of things the scarcely-ever-to-be-attained proof has not hitherto been found, to the effect that the entire pre- Celtic population of .West Europe, above all the primitive pre- Aryan population which preceded the Celts and Germans in France and Germany, was of Iberian stork, tliore is thus far no meaning in reckoning the- pre-Celtic population of the British Isles among the Iberians.
Skene would regard the Picts as Celts, to wit, the Northern, later Gaelicized, Picts as members of the Irish branch, the Southern Brythonized ones as Cymric. By reason of his deficient linguistic training, the correct principle never attains the ma.stei-y with him — that in Pictish names from Christian timea it is not that which can be Irish or Welsh in them that is decisive, but that which can neither be Irish nor Welsh nor Celtic. Es- pecially, he takes no regard of the inscrip- tions got in the Pictish area — some of them certainly found subsequently — on which Khys, in his paper already mentioned, rightly lays stress. In them the non-Celtic (non-Aryan) substratum, under a light Irish veneer, comes clear to view. Further, Skene takes no account of the fact that the order of social life among the Picts and their an- cestors in tae British Isles was fundamen- tally different from the Aryan-Celtic social order, as we shall see.
CHAPTER II.
Among' the remnant of tl:e pre-Aryan <pre-Celtic) primitive peoples of Britain Matriarchy (mother-right) was still in full swing; it still regulated the order of suc- cession for centuries after the Picts had long- been Christianized and lingually as- similated, until the downfall of the Pictish State in the ninth century. Women did not take a particularly high place; on the con- trary, so far as we see, a woman never rules;
riHE MOTHER, HOWEVER, AND BY CONSE- QUENCE, THE BIRTH, DECIDES TRIBAL MEM- BERSHIP, THE EIGHT OF INHERITANCE. To
a Pictish ruler and his brothers the son of the eldest does not succeed, the son of the sister succeeds. After him and his eventual brothers on the mother's side, a sister's son succeeds, and so on.* We have quite a series of testimonies mutually supporting one another. An indirect witness, the Pictish Chronicle, may be cited at the out- set.
The Pictish Chronicle ("Chronica de origine antiquorum Pictorum") is a literary monument written in Latin in the lifetime of the Scotic King Cinaed, son of Malcolm
* cf. The Uist custom, where the household cows are £Ìven the mother's names from generation to generation. In the glens of Antrim, if I mistake not, a young woman is locally known by her mother's name, not solely by her own. " A woman may take her husband's name when she marries, or she may not. If she keeps her own, she ma.v keep either her father's name or her mother's maiden name. Suppose that a girl at the age of ten is called Mary Macneill ; she may grow up and marry a husband of the name of Slaclarty, and subsequently another husband of the name of Slacelheran, and after all she may die as Mary Docharty, because that was her mother's maiden name." — Blackwood's Magazine, Sept., 1S93, p. 370.
14
(971-995), but is partly, as tlie Irish words left in it betray, worked up from an older Irish source. It is printed by Skene, Chronicles of the Picts and of the Scots and other early memorials of Scottish History, Edinburg-h, 1867. The little work falls into three divisions: (1) a proto-histoi-y (i.e. a pre-historic account) of the Picts chiming in with the "Origines" of Isidor; (2) a list of the Pictish Kings from Cruithne, the "Heros Eponymus" of the race, down to Bred, the last ruler of Pictish stock; (3) a somewhat more detailed chron- icle of the Irish-Celtic rulers of the North British Scottish-Pictish Kingdom united in 844 under Kenneth MacAlpin down to the reign of the so-called Kenneth, son of Mal- colm (971-995). Only the second part interests us here, the first is quite worth- less: e.g., thirty kings, all bearing the name of Brudc*, are given one after another, as rulers over Britain and Ireland. On fully reliable historical ground we stand when we come to the entry : "Bridei filius Mail- con XXX. annis regnavit; in octavo anno regni eius baptizatus est a sancto Columba." From the time of this first Christian ruler of the Northern Picts (died 583) onwards we have reliable contemporary sources at hand; the Angle Beda, writinsr in North- umberland in 731, naturally takes a good deal of account, in his "Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum," of things Pictish, and in Ireland we have two annalistic works (the Annals of Tigernach and tlie Ulster Annals) which in a prominent manner occupy them- selves with the affairs of their countrymen in North Britain. We can accordingly from the years 583-840 control the names and periods of reign of the Pictish rulers of the Chronicle from independent sources. If we
♦ Most likely a Pictish title.— G. H.
15
glance over tbe series of names of the nilers of Pictisk race certain peculiarities in- voluntarily strike us: (1) a limited number of kino^'s names occur (Brede, Talore,* Brest, NechtanS; (2) the further method of naming' is as among the British and Irish, hence the addition of the father's name with "filius" (son) prefixed e.g. "Breidei filius TVid"; (3) These fathees OF Kings xever themselves appear as Kings; they succeed each other, "Garnard £lius Wid iv. annis regnavit, Bridei filiua Wid V. annis regnavit, Talore frater eorura xii . annis regnavit" ; after these three brothers, sons of Wid, cornea "Tallorcen filius Enfret v. annis regnavit," after him "Gratnait filius Donnel vi. annis regnavit et dimidium" and "Drest frater ejus vii. annis regnavit"; then after these two brothers cornea "Bredei filius Bili" — all of them names occurring in the Irish Annals; (4) The fathers of the Pictish Kings, to judge from the names, abb for the jiost part not Picts, but belong to the neighbouring Irish or Welsh or Angles. Thus, the father of "Tallorcen filius Enfret, who reigns, according to the Ulster Annals, from 653-657 is according to iis name (Aiufret, in the Irish Annals En- fret), certainly an Angle (Eeanfrith, En- frith). The father of Tallorcen's successors, '•Gratnait filiua Donnel" reigning from 657-663, and his brother " Drest" (666-673) is according to his name ("Donnell, Don- nail") certainly Irish. The father of the successor of both these brothers, viz., of "Bredei Bili" (died 693) is according to his name a Welshman. In the case first ad- duced we can make the deduction drawn from the name almost positively certain
* A form remaining in a parish named after a Pictiah saint,— Kiltarlity (CiUtaraalan, for Talargan) ($) in Mac Xaughton.— G. H.
16
from reliable sources. From Bede's His- tory i., 34; ii., 12; iii., 1, and from the Anglo- Saxon Chronicle for the years 593, 607, 617, 633, 634, we learn the following: — From 593-617 King "Aedilfrid" ruled over Ber- nicia, the most northerly Angle State bordering on the British Kingdom; con- temporary with him, over the neighbouring Angle State Deira there ruled "Aeduine." Now when Aedilfrid fell in G17 "Aeduine" of Deira forcibly snatched the control and drove away the sons of Aedilfrid, seven in number ; they are enumerated in the Saxon Chronicle under the year 617, and the eldest of them is named Eanfrid (Enfrith). After Aeduin's death in 633 the Princes of the ruling house of Bernicia come back, and Eanfrid becomes king, but falls in 634 fight- ing against the British King Ceadualla. Where did the Angle Princes, the eldest of whom was named Eanfrid (Aenfrid, En- frid), sojourn between 617-633? Bede tells us distinctly: "tempore toto quo regnavit Aeduini (617-633) filii prafati regis Aedil- fridi (617) qui ante ilium regnaverat, cum magna nobilium juventute apud Scottos sive Pictoa exulabant." Henoe Eanfrid with his brothers and fellow-exiles so- journed from 617-633 with the Irish (Scots) and Picts. Is it in any wise bold to identify the Angle Prince Eanfrid, who between 617 and 633 sojourned at the Pictish Court, with. Enfrit (Anfrit), the father of the Pictish king Tallorcen, who reigned from 653-657? Ii like manner we can show that Bili, father of the Pictish king Bredei, who died in 693, was a Cymric prince, who, very likely, like Eanford, had been a guest at the Pictish Ccurt.
If we contemplate the result arrived at from a consideration of the Pictish Chronicle, and hold pointa three and four paiticularly before our mind's eye, remem-
17
bcring that the examples chosen are not the exception but a hard and fast rnle, it seems clear to me that on the hypothesis tluit the Pictisli tribal membership and right of in- heiitance were grounded, as among the Ger- mans and the Celts, npon Procreation, with succession in the male line, it seems to me ou thii assiuii2ition, that the situation in the Pictish Royal IIoTise remains unexplained. Everything becomes plain if tribal member- ship and right of succession was with the Picts determined through birth, therefore by the Mother's Right (succession in the female line). The sister's son always succeeds in the sovereignity, accordingly fathe"r and sou never turn up among the Picts as kings, Ihis conchision, inferred from a consideration of facts, will now be confirmed through a series of direct testimonies. At the outset I take the oldest traditional evidence. Bede, in 731 — hence at the time of the existence of the Pictish state — writes in his history that the right of inlieritance among the Picts •was such that "ut ubi res perveniret in dubium, magis de feminea, regum prosopia qiiam de masculina regem sibi eligerent : quod usque hodie apud Pictos constat esse servatum.'' According-ly the "a, priori" pos- sible interpretation of the words "ubi res perveniret in dubium," that only in cases where one had doubt as to the fathership of a Pictish king with reference to the sou born to him by his spouse, that in such case the sister's son succeeded, this interpreta- tion is already excluded, because, as a mat- ter of fact, among the Picts the son never succeeded the father upon the throne. One must hold in one's mind's eye tliat it is not a Pict who has writt-en the above words, but an Anglo-Saxon, regarding an institutiou foreign to his ideas of legal right, and, be- sides, following an Irish source. The Irish cculd not see anything essentially different in
18
tliar, amongf the Pieta, given a case of several Tsrothers, the same followed one another on the throne in order of birth, until the last died out. Then, however, the right of inheritance among the Picts and Irish was decided on a different priaiciple, which is expressed by the above words, "res pervenit in dubium" ; witli the Picts, right of succession in the female line, with the Irish, ri^ht of succession in the male line came in. Add to this that in numer- ous Irish sources which take up with the Picts 3.nd their affairs, it is stated cut and dry, and without limitation, that the Picts "iar mathru gabait flaith ocus gach comarbus olchena," "after the mothers they take sovei'eignity and «very other inheritance besides (v. Skene, "Chronicle of the Picts and Scots," p. 319; Todd, "Leabhar Brethnach," Dublin, 1848, Additional Notes, p. Ixxi., where it is trans- lated— it is in right of mothers they succeed to sovereignity and all other successions). In slightly altered words several Irish sources announce the same: v. Skene, p. 40, 1. 4; 328, 1. 10; 329, 1. 14; Todd, "Leabhar Breath- nach," p. 126, 11; 140, 13; Additional Notes, p. Ixx., 13; Ixxiv., 22. Succession in the female line, as above set forth, regulated not only the Pictish succession to the throne, but in a time, too, which the Irish well remem- bered— the whole Pictish social order was based on it. We have an interesting proof as to how firmly succession in the female line was still in the ninth century regarded as the form for the ruyal succession among the Picts. When the ruler of the Irish (Scottish) King- dom on the West Coast, Kenneth MacAlpin had made himself at the same time ruler of the Pictish State, he transferred his residence to Scone (Perth), the residence of the inde- pendent Pictish Kings. In the Ulster Annals accordingly he is directly named on his death "rex Pictorum." His brother, "DomnuU Mac- Alpin succeeded him as King down to 862. To
19
liim STiccoeded, m accordance with tlio strict Irish rule of Hereditary Succession, the eon of Kenneth, down to 876 (Anjials of Ulster). "When, however, his brother "Aed Mac- Cinaeda," ^ot himself ready to succeed him as Kingf of the Picts, he was murdered by a cer- tain Ciric (Girg) — "a sociis suis" the Ulster Annals sav under the year 878 — who placed the son of the sister of Kenneth upon the throne, "Eochaid fihus Eun," and held it for eleven years. Botli were driven out in 889, and then, in accordance with the Irish Doc- trine of Succassion in the male line "Domnal mac Constantin mic Cinaeda" ascended the Pictish throne (Pictish Chronicle, ed. Skene, p. 9), hence the son of a former king (Constan- tin, 862-876Ì. who, again, was the son of a king (Kenneth, 844-858). From then on- wards until the extinction of this Irish dynasty with Alexander III. in 1286, the suc- cession to the throne in the male line was not violated. This Domnali mac Constantin is the first in the Armals of Ulster to be styled "ri Alba" (King of Alba), uaider him, accord- ingly the personal union of the Irish State with the Pictish State was done away with, and one sole Kingdom of Alba was set up. It is clear, as Skene, too, assumes (Celtic Scot- laud, I., 329), that in the murder of Aed, the son of Kenneth, and in the succession to the tlu'one of a son of the daughter of this Ken- neth (Eochain filius Eun), we have to see the attempt of a Pictish party to carry through the old Pictish doctrine of succession in the case of the new reigning family of Irish race. The outcome was the entire abolition of Pictish indeiiendence (anno 889), which, through tue pei-sonal union with the Scotic State, was partially retained.
In course of the fifth century the Southern Picta were Christianized by the British Celts (Cymri), their Northern racial brethren in the second half of the sixth century, through.
Columba of Hi (lona), descended from the house of O'Neill (lat. nepotes Nelli) — the noblest among the Hiberno-Celts. The re- jjorts of the Anglo-Saxon Bede and of the Irish with regards to the peculiar social insti- tiition of the as yet pohtically independent Picts, date traditionally, at least, from the beginning of the eighth centuiy (Bede wa3 born in 674, wrote in 731 his Historia Ecclesi- astica Gentis Anglorum), otherwise from the ninth century and later times. We must accordingly note well, even if succession in the fejnale line still existed, that among the "Christian" Picts from the seventh to the ninth century the social relations expressed by the doctrine of succession above adduced no longer existed in its purity (sit venia verbo). There was only succession-in-the- female-liue as modified by Christianity, by Christian views of tiie world, and by the Chiistianized Aryan-Celtic culture of the Irish and of the Cymri. It would have been other- wise among the non-Aryan aboriginals of Britain in the times of transition towards assimilation in reUgiou and in language to the Aryan Celts, otherwise, too, in the days of Paganism, and of the as yet unbroken folkdom of the primitive non-Aryan inhabi- tants of the British Isles. But, as a matter of fact, since the days of the Caesars we have a series of interesting notices which permit us to take an instructive glance at the social relations of the primitive non-xVryan inhabi- tants of the British Isles before their assimi- lation with tne Aryan Celts and before their reception of Christianity. In face of these notices one has heretofore been mostly some- what perplexed: thev could not be got to harmonize with what we otherwise from olden time know about the social polity of the Celta, one could not perceive how, upon the social basis gleaming forth through these notices, the social order which the Irish and Cymri La
21
tlie fifth and sixtli century liave to show as one in deed and truth handed down from oldeu time — one could not perceive how tliis could have grown up in a ui"ht. One did not, to wit, pay sufficient reg-ard to the Picts and to the doctrine of succession in the female line in important respects still in vogue •with them in the* ninth century. One accepted every- thing related about "the inhabitants" of 33ritain without proof as a report upon the "Aryan" Celts of Britain. In the light of the I^recediug, the notices which I further adduce receive for the first time a con-ect light thrown •u23on them, and reflect from their side fresh light.
Csesar (Galhc Wai-, V., 14), in speaking of the condition of Britain, says: — "Uxores habent deni duodenique inter se communes, et maxime fratres cum fratribus parcntesque cum hberis; sed qui sunt ex iis nati, eorum habentur hberi, quo primum virgo quaeque deducta est." Rhys thinks (Celtic Britain, p. 55) if Caesar had not here in his mind's eye "a passage from some Greek book of imagin- ary travels among imaginary barbarians," one would have to think of a misunderstanding on Caesar's part in his conception of the island Celts, where ten and more men, with their wives and children, lived as in an enlarged family partnership xmder the patria potestas of the family head. As a possibihty further removed Rhys regards it that Caesar, through the Celts of the coasts, had got reports re- garding the otherwise differently-moulded social order of the non-Aryan aboriginals, and given these in his own manner in the above words*
* "The most (;i\-ilised of all these nations are they who inhabit Kent, which is entirelj' a maritime district, nor do they differ much from the Gallic customs. Most of the inland inhabitants do not sow corn, but live on milk and flesh, and are clad with skins. All the Britons, indeed, dye themselves [i.e. , Pomponius Mela and Plinj] with woad, which occasions a bluish colour, and therefore have a more terrible appearance in fight. They wear their hair long.
On a further consideration of the chapter, this view seems the one required. Chapter fourteen contains four propositions: — (1st) Caesar speaks of the inhabitants of the coast as whose representatives he names the in- habitants of Kent; (2nd) he speaks of the Britons of the interior; ''3rd) he reports some- thing which all the Britons (omnes Britanni), therefore the inhabitants of the interior (in- teriores) and those of the coast have in com- mon; then (4th) comes the sentence empha- sized above. Now, that Caesar here does not speak of "omnes Britanni" (all the Britons), but, reprardingf the foregoing clause as paren- thetical, reports something further regarding the interiorea, one point seems to me to prove this. In the first Caesar sums up his judg- ment on the coast inhabitants, "neque multum a Gallica diffemnt consuetudine" (i.e., nor do they diifer much from the Gaulish custom). But he could not have given out the remarka laid stress on above as the report on the coast inhabitants^ who in their customs scarcely differed from the Gauls. The possibiUty of being misunderstood Caesar probably did not feel, because, simply from his knowledge of the facts, he was precluded from conceiving- that these reports had reference to the inhabi- tants of the coasts. On Caesar's own estimate (V., 12) interior Britain was inhabited by such as regarded themselves as aboriginal in- habitants in contrast to the Aryan-Celtic in- habitants of the coasts. In the above empha- sized words, therefore, I see the impression which the entirely different social order of the primitive non-Aryan inhabitants of Britain made upon the Aryan Celts of Britain.
and have every part of their body shaved except their head and upper lip. Ten and twelve have wives common to them, and particularly brothers among brothers and parents among their children ; but if there be any issue by these wives, they are reputed to be the children of those by whom respectively each was espoused when a virgin.— <CsBaar'3 Gallic War, V., 14— Bohu's tr.).
23
Some seventy years later Strabo, in his Geonraphv (lY., 4, C, 201 ; Meineke, p. 275), gives the following report of Ireland: — "Con- cerning lerna (Ireland) we have nothing cer- tain to relate further than that ita inhabitants are more savage than the Britons, feeding on human flesh, and enormous eaters, and deem- ing it commendable to devour their deceased fathers, as well as openly to have commerce not only with other women, but also with their own mothers and sistei-s. But this we relate pei-hapa without veiy competent authority."*
CHAPTER in.
We have seen already that Irish Literature in the seventh century after Christ is aware- that in the most different parts of Ireland there had been primitive non-Celtic settlers. On the words in italics, accordingly, one has to set weight, because Irish Saga, as we shall see, is very familiar with such a state of matters in days byegone.
Two hundred years after Strabo, Dio Cassius comes to speak of the wars of Severua- (200-211) with the independent Caledonians. He says regarding the two sections of those, viz., of the Maiatai (Southern Picts) and Caledonioi (Northern Picts) : — "The two most considerable bodies of the people of that island (Britain), and to which alm.ost all the rest relate, are the Caledonians and the Meatae. The last dwell on this side the great wall that separates the island in two parts.
* Homer makes the six sons of Eolus marry their six sisters, and Juno addresses herself to Jupiter as " et soror et conjux."— Note by Translator in Bohn.
The others live beyond it. Both of them inhabit upon baiTen, uncultivated mountains, or in desert, marshy plains, where they have neither walls nor towns uor manured lands, but feed upon the milk of their flocks, what they get by hunting, and some wild fruits. They never eat fish, though they have plenty of them. They have no other houses than tents, where they live stark naked and barefooted. The women are common between them, and they take an equal care of all the children they bring forth. Their government is popular, and they dearly love freebooting. They fight upon chariots. Their horses are low, but swift. They have great agiUty of body, and tread very securely at the same time. The arms they make use of are a buckler, a poinard, a short lance, at the lower end of which is a piece of tin in the form of an apple, with which their custom is to make a noise, with a design to frighten their enemies. They are accustomed to fatigue, to bear hunger, cold, and all maruier of hardships. They run into the morasses up to the neck, and live several days there witliout eating. When they are in the woods they feed upon roots and leaves. They make a certain food tkat so admirably su^jports the spirits that when they have taken the quantity of a bean they feel no more hunger or thirst. This ìb the manner of living among the inhabitants of Britain. , . Severus having undertaken to reduce the whole island imder his subjection, entered into "Caledonia," where he had end- less fatigues to sustain, forests to cut down, mountains to level, morasses to dry up, and bridges to build. He had no battles to fight, and saw no enemies in a body. Instead of appearing, they exposed their flocks of sheep and oxen, with a design to surprise our soldiers that should stray from the army for the sake of plunder. The warriors, too, extremely incommoded our troops, insomuch that some
of the soldiers, bein^ able to march no further, begged of their companions to kill them that they might not fall alive into their enemies' hands. In a word, Severus lost fifty thousand men there, and yet quitted not his enterprise. He went to the extremity of the island, where he observed very exactly the course of the suu in those parts, and the length of days and nights in winter and summer. He was carried over the island in a close chair by reason of his infirmaties, and made a treaty with the inhabitants by which he obUged them to re- linquish part of their country to him." Here we have to do with the direct ancestors of the Picts, among whom, 600 years later, strict descent in the female line was the rule of succession to the throne. This same Dio re- ports (lib. Ixxvi., 16) that Julia, the spouse of Severus, reproached the wife of a Caledonian on account of the, from Julia's point of view, lax manners of the Caledonian women, and puts this cutting reply into the mouth of the Caledonian lady: — "This corruption of the Eoman manners occasioned once an agreeable repartee from a Caledonian woman, whose name was Argentocoxa, to the Empress Julia. As they were in conversation together after the conclusion of the treaty made between the two nations, and Julia was rallying the other about the liberties the Caledonian women took publicly with men, she answered her in these words: — 'We satisfy the necessities of nature in a more commendable manner than you Eomans, for whereas you seek secrecy to prostitute \ ourselves to the vilest of men, wo appear in the face of the world enjoying the society of the best.' " — Lib. Ixx., vi., 12, Xiphilin. In like manner, in tue seventh century. Christian princesses gave themselves up openly to such of the nobles of the Angles, Irish, and Cymri as pleased them among the refugees at the Pictish Court.
26
Two liundred years later, regarding the Scotti and Atecotti, who at that time, through pillaging incursions in alliance with the Picts, disturbed the peace of North Britain, who became also Roman mercenaries, and found occupation on the Continent, Hieronymus in several places reports that the same "uxores proprias non habent; nulla apud eos coniux propria est, sed ut cuicj^ue libitum fuerit pecudum more lasciviunt;" and in another place that these same "promiscuas iixnres co;ii- munes liberos habeant" (Monum. Britaunica I., xcix.). I have shown above that about the year 700 the Irish were still well aware that the basic-stock of the population of the two counties lying within sight of Scotland, viz., Down and Antrim, were not of Celtic origin, but belonged to the Pictish race. I have also indicated that it is in accordance with the course of thing.? that the Scotti, who from the middle of the fourth century appear as alUes of the Picts, come, the majority of them, from those parts of Ireland named. These Scotti and Atecotti are, therefore, the majority of them, bvit the primitive non-Aryan inhabi- tants of Ireland, to wit, Picts subjugated by the Irish Celts, under the leadership, doubtless, of the Celtic nobility, but themselves not as yet assimilated to the Irish Celts. The dis- tinct statements of Hieronymus can from this be very well explained.
Two hundred years later the interpolator of Solin relates about a king of the Hebrides — "Nulla illi femina datur propria, sed per uicissitudines, in quamcumaque commotus sit, usuarium sumit, unde ei nee uotum nec spes
CONCEDITUE LIBEEOETJBN*" and of the iu-
* " Next come tlie Isles, called Heljrkles, five in number, whose inhabitants know not what corn means, but live only b.v fish and milk. They are all under the
government of one king The king hath
nothing of his ov.'n, but taketh of every man's. He is bound to equitie by certain laws, and, lest he may start from right Vjy covetousness, he learneth justice b}' poverty
habitants of Mainland, the chief of the Shet- land srroup, he says — "Utuntnr feminis vulgo, certum inatrimoniiim nnUi" (Mommsen, Solin, p. 234, 26, to 235, 26). That we have to regard the priinitive ijiliabitant= of the Hebrides and of the Shetland Isles as members of the same race to which the primitive pre- Aryan inhabi- tants of Britain and Ireland belonged is a latent inference. Mommsen perceived (Solin, p. xlvii., Ixiv.) that this interpolation was made by an Irishman at Lake Constance, likely by Columban, who sojourned there from the years 609-610 to 612-613, or else by an associate of his. In the "Proceedings of the Prussian Eoyal Academy of Sciences for 1891," p. 2S2, &c., I have sought to show that in these additions to Solin we have the gist of the reiiort-s which the Irish anclinrites collec- ted from their own observation on their voyag- ings in the Atlantic Ocean in the sixth century. All these reports, from that of Caesar in 55 B.C. down to' the Interpolator of Solin ('circa. 610 A.n.), reflect but the impressions of people who knew no other than the Aryan social order, based upon marriage and succession in the male line — impressions received on their coming into passing contact ivith the pre- Aryan population of the British Isles, with, their social order based upon quite another principle. These observers could not leave their own skins, if I may so say ; they Judged what they saw in accordance with their own views — observed what on the surface deviated from these. Hence it is not uninteresting that, with reference to the inhabitants of the Hebrides, it particularly struck the Iriah vouchers of the Interpolator of Solin that the
as one who may ha\e nothing proper or peculiar to him- self, but is found at the charges of the realm. He is not suffered to have any woman to himself, but whomsoever he hath mind unto he borroweth her for a time, and so others by turns. Whereby it cometh to pass that he hath neither desire nor hope of issue . . . . (in Thule), they use their women in common, and no man hath any wife."— Julius Solinus Polyhistor, c. 34.
28
King had no children : it was thus the doctrine of succession in the female line (Mother- Eight), in virtue of which the son of the King was excluded from the succession, except he were at the same time the son of the King's sister, presented itself to his mind. I will resist the temptation to portray, in accordance with these testimonies, a detailed picture of the) social order among the primitive non- Aryan population of the British Isles. In place thereof I shall adduce a fact which becomes for the first time intelHgible in the light of the preceding discussions. In Irish we possess a specially rich archaic saga-litera- ture; the historic back-ground of the old heroic Saga (the Cuchullin Saga) is the first century after Christ, the time preceding the introduction of Christianity and the plunder- ing expeditions to North Britain; the social order rests upon monogamic marriage and upon descent in the male line. In this society of Irish Heroic Saga and in legend, too, the female figures, almost without exception, bear an unspeakably common character, in contrast to the principle of the social order. All the women, matrons and maidens, queens and chieftainesses, have the vulgivaga deportment of the priestesses of Venus in our modern centres of culture. They throw themselves round the neck to-day of this one, to-morrow of that one that pleases them, as Dio's Cale- donian lady commends. The brother sleeps with the sister, and begets a son by her, step- sons likewise with their stepmother, three brothers in common impregnate their sister, the son begets a son by his mother, the father by his daughter, so that the mother of the off- spring is sister to {he same. Hence all this, by means of many instances from old Saga, proves what Strabo mentions concerning the inhabitants of Ireland at the time of Christ, and would prefer not to believe. In the "Zeitschrift fiir Deutsches Altertum," vol. 33,
29
5>p. 2S1-2S5, I have adduced material, stifling iu its copiousuess, from tne oldest Irish litera- ture, and the same could be heaped up still further. Without exaggeration, i believe I am able to inaintaiu that the literatures of all the Aiyan peoples of olden time taken "tegcther" do not by a long way exhibit all the filth which Irish Sa?a by itself has to show. Fioni the standpoint that the Irish, according to their language, are an Aryan people, and that with them tne social order rests upon monogamy and descent in the male line, this is certainly very surprising but con- ceivable in the light of the preceding discus- sions. The stream of Aryan blood which with the Celti puured irum tue i^urupeau Continent to the British Isles became, in proportion to its distance from the centre of origin, e^en weaker, iu North Britain and in Ireland weaker than iu Soiith-East and Interior Britain. With reference to Ireland, it is not without import that the material brought to- gether at the end is "essentially" handed down through the Heroic Saga of "Ulster and Connaught." Precisely for North and North- East Ireland we have evidence that the primi- tive pre-C'eltic population settled here down to semi-historic times. The stream of Celtic Aryans who emigrated from Gaul to the south- east coast of Britain (Sussex, Kent, Essex) will naturally have rolled on in Britain towards the North and West. From the west coast of Wales the hills of South Ireland (Leinster) were visible — "Ab hinc" (St Davids in Pem- brokeshire, South-West Wales) "sereno tem- pore montes Hiberniae prospici possunt, mari Hibernico tantum uno contractiore trans- navigabili die interjacente. Unde et Gulielmus, Guilelmi regis bastardi Alius, et 2sordmannorum in Anglia rex secundus, qui et rex Rufus est agnominatus, Kambriam suo in tempore animose penetrans et circumdans, cum a rupibus istis Hiberniam forte pros-
30
piceret, dixisse memoratur: Ad terram istam expugnandam, ex navibus regni mei hue convocatis, pontem adhuc faciam" (Giraldus- Cambrensis : Itinerarmm Kambrise II., 1, ed. Dimock; Giraldi Cambr, Opera VI., p. 111). Just as the Anglo-Normans in the twelfth century began the conquest of Sovith-East Ireland from this point, so the Aiyan Celts in the fifth century before <^hi-ist would have- crossed over from this point to Ireland, and by degrees have penetrated into North- West and North Ireland, their Aryan blood getting more and more thin. Of course, these Aryan Celts who crossed the Irish Sea had still the power to subdue the primiiiTe non-Aryan inhabi- tants throughout unto the furthest corners of tl:e North-We-it and North Irelnu'l. They made the ancient Aryan social order, which they brought with them from their distant home, the basis of the social order in Ireland, to which the subjugated population must out- wardly adapt themselves. But these Celts, according to number, were in North Ireland certainly in the minority, as were, e.g., the Franks in Gaul, the Goths in Spain, accord- ingly the customs of the vanquished primitive inhabitants were not changed at once, as the reports of the ancients and the reminiscences of the Irish Heroic Saga prove. The most powerful lever for bringing about a change in the customs founded on the former social order of the non-Aryan population in Ireland was Chiistianity, which, since the commencement of the fourth century, pushinp- forward from the South, gradually found entrance, and in the beginning of the fourth century was intro- duced likewise into the North. In the ninth and tenth centuries a powerful stream of Aryan blood came into the veins of the Irish, as the Norwegians and Danish Vikings gradu- ally became Gaelicized, Christianized, and commingled with the Irish.
SI
When in the seventh-eighth century the Picta of North Britain nad been Christianizel for 200 years and Gaelicized for a period of almost equal length, there existed on the side of morality no difference in principle between Pictland and Ireland. The concept of marriage and of matrimonial fideUty would, with the Picts, have been more lax and more elastic ; from the side of the Church the "tolerari posse" would have been as widely extended as possible in face of Pictish national custom.
If one did not feel herein any chief differ- ence, a marked difl'erence between the social order of the Christian Picts and of the Christian Irish would have struck with all the more surprise tne keenly observant, in literary respects, highly-cultured Irish of the seventh- eighth century, viz., the totally divergent Pictish Eight of Succession — this "rocher de bronce" of Mother-Eight. As something quite unintelligible for them, it must hav>' aroused their astonishment and wonder. Tliey sought to explain this riddle in the way one commonly solved similar problems in those times — they invented an explanatory history. The Irish are the authors, but I shall give the story here according to Bede as he reports (Historia, Eccl. I., 1) it from Irish sources. After he has related the occupation of Britain by Celtic Britons, on the pre-supposition that they found no primitive inhabitants before them, and were thus really the first possessors, he goes on — "The nation of the Picts, from Scythia, as is reported, putting to sea in a few long ships, were driven by the winds from the shores of Britain, and arrived on the northern coasts of Ireland, where, finding the nation of the Scots, they begged to be allowed to settle among them, but could not succeed in obtain- ing their request. Ireland is tne greatest island next to Britain, and lies to the west of it; but, as it is shorter than Britain to the
82
nortli, so, on the other hand, it runs out far beyond it to the south, opposite to the northern parts of Spain, thouo^h a spacious sea lies between them. The Picts, as has been said, arriving^ in tliis island by sea, desired to have a place granted them in which they might settle. The Scots answered that the island could not contain them both; but 'we can give you good advice,' said they, 'what to do; we know there is another island, not far from ours, to the eastward, ■which we often see at a distance when the days are clear. If you will go thither, you will obtain settlements, or if they should oppose you, you shall have our assistance.' The Picts, accordingly, sailing over into Britain, began to inhabit the northern parts thereof, for the Britons were possessed of the southern. Now, the Picts had no wives, and asked them of the Scots who would not con- sent to grant them upon any other terms than that when any difficulty should arise,
THEY SHOULD CHOOSE A KING FROM THE PEMALE ROYAL RACE RATHER THAN FROM THE MALE, WHICH CUSTOM, AS IS WELL KNOWN, HAS BEEN OBSERVED AMONG THE
PiCTS TO THIS DAY. In process of time, Britain, besides the Britons and the Picts, received a third nation, the Scots, who, mi- grating from Ireland under their leader, Eeuda, either by fair means or by force of arms, secured to themselves those settlements among the Picts which they still possess. From the name of their commander they are to this day called Dalreudins, for, in their language, daal signifies a part." The whole, of course, in the sense in which Bed© gives it, and believes it has no more value than e.g. *Fritz Reuter's "Ursreschicht von Mecklen- borg." Such stories are of learned origin;
*A modern German poet who wrote in Low German (•Platt-Deutsch).— G. H.
33
"then they frequently become lialf and half folk-tales, whose worth consists in that they simply confirm the presence of certain strik- ing' social or ethnological phenomena which they seemingly explain. It is pali^able that this story has been invented to explain the actually existent Pictish Mother-right which astounded the Irish. We know from other sources that in the 6-7 century the Irish held thejnselves to be the rightful lords of Ireland just as the Britons, their kindred in blood and language, 'held themselves to be of Britain. As we saw, the remembrance of unassimilated Picts liaving been settlers in Ireland, was at that time still fresh among them; in North Britain there still were Picts in the enjoyment of political independence. The Irish of the 6-7 century, read up in classic literature, could have the information that Scots in the 4th century fought as allies of the Picts in Britain. In short, all the ele- ments were before them out of which the Irish in the 6th or 7th century wrought the story related by Bede as an explanation of the Pictish descent in the female line. With more or less of alteration in single points, which are immaterial to the kernel, the story is to be found in Irish literature in all the passages above cited from, the works of Skene and of Todd. With regard to the question touched on above as to whether in the pre-Aryan inhabitants of the north- western isles of Europe we have to seek for kinsfolk of the Finnish-Esthonian, or of the Iberian, or of a third race, which, perhaps, had settlers of kin to them dwelling in pre- Aryan Gaul and Germany — in this refer- enc? I can ([uite well, after the foregoing discussions, point out but one thing. More important than the vague comparison of Pic- tish words, for the most part come down to us in Aryan-Celtic dress (Irish or Welsh), v'ith quite modern Basque or Finnish words.
2a
34
arid such linguistic phenomena, for the solu- tion of tlie said question a greater contribu- tion will be made by inquiring whether for the Finnish-Esthonian or for the primitive- Iberian race we have to pre-suppose the same social order which was certainly in vogue among tlie primitive pre-Aryan race of the British Isles, and among their descendants, still continued in principle far down into historic times. If this cannot be proved for the Finnish-Esthonian, or for the primitive Iberians, then the primitive pre-Aryan popu- lation of the British Isles belongs of a cer- tainty to a race different from those named.
CHAPTER IV,
Let us return again to the starting point of our discussion. What do we learn from the conditions brought to light as having juridically existed among the primitive non- Aryan population of Great Britain? What do we learn for answering the question as to whether among the peoples of Aryan stock a social order preceded that based upon the foundation of father-right— an order in which mother-right was in vogue? Further, whether certain forms of right among individual peoples of Aryan s'tock are to be regarded as remnants of an older social order? We learn several things, I think.
When the Celts crossed over to the British Isles we know not. It is a view widely diffused that the Celtic extension towards North-West Europe falls in close connection with that great Celtic movement beginning in the sixth- fifth century before Christ. It is supposed that the Germans at that time still dwelling
35
•east of the Elbe pressed iipon the Celts settled north of the Main and east of the Ehine as far as beyond the Weser and opposite the Elbe, and had caused that stransfe commotion amonof the Celts which about 5Q0 b.c. caused Celtic hoards to come to the Iberian peninsula, led others at the be^innins: of the fourth century B.C. before the j^ates of Rome, pushed forward troops of Celts in Alexander's time towards Macedonia, and led them in the fol- lowing' centui-v towards Greece and Asia Minor (Galatia). This same impulse which led to the Celtic movement towards the South-West, South, and South-East is said, in the sixth- fifth century b.c, to have brought about the conquest of the British Isles through Celts from North Gaul. The circumstance that about the middle of the first centiiry b.c. Caesar, on the south-cast coast of Britain, met in with Celts near of kin to the Gauls, but heard, however, that in Central Britain there was settled a primitive non-Celtic popu- lation; the further circumstance that 130 years later (about 80 a.d) an unassimUated non-Aryan population still occupied Caledonia, while in Ireland at the same time, or soon thereafter, the last non-Arvan primitive popu- lation was Celticized — all these circumstances well fit in with the supposition that the occu- pation of Britain, and then of Ireland, through Celts in the sixth-fifth centuiy before our era took place in connection with that Celtic movement which brought the Celts into North Spain. Hordes such as those which fought the Romans on the AUia, or those which in the tliird century penetrated Asia Minor, could bring about the conquest and gradual Celticization of Great Britain and Ireland. But this one will have to concede, that the facts just alleged with reference to Britain and Ireland since the days of Caesar scarcely permit that one should put the landing of the Celts on the British Isles later than the fifth
36
century before our era: already in the fourtb century Pytheas of Massilia met Celts on the ooast of Albion, which he for the first time calls "Brettanike." If one keeps the social circumstances of the primitive non-Aryan poijulation of Bricain, as described, before one's eye alongside of the verdict of the Celts in historic times upon them, then one must conclude that the Celts, at the latest,
IN THE sixth-fifth CENTUEX B.C. POSSES- SED, IN POINT OF LEGAL EIGHT, NO INSTITU- TION \VHICH offered any CONNECTINa LINK WITH THE FUNDAMENTALLY DIF- FERENT SOCIAL ORDER OF THE PRIMITIVE NON-ArTAN POPULATION OF BRITAIN AND
OF Ireland.
More, however, for judgment of the above repeated queries, one can learn if one will only keep in mind certain pre-suppositions founded upon fact. Such are the following: — (1) Among all peoples who by means of their language can bo accounted of the Aryan stock, be it Indians or Celts, Iranians or Itahans, fathcr-righi ("procreation) forms the clear basis of the existent social order. Also it cannot be doubted that this must already have been the case among the jDroto-Aryaus (v. O. Schrader's Sprachvergleichung und Urgeschichte 2. Aufl. S. 553-586: B. Del- briick. Die Indo germaniscnen Yerwandt- schaftvS namen, ein Beitrag zur vergleichendeu Alterthumskunde in den Abhandlungen dcr phil : historischen classe der Konigl. Sachs. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, 1890, Band XI., 381-606). (2) How far back into anti- quity have we to place this primitive com- munity? For this we get a sort of small scale-of-proportion in the fact that, according to recent investigations, the Indian Aryans already in 3500 B.C. were settled as conquerors in the Punjab, and lived in the faith that a wife was a friend, that to have a daughter was a sorrow, a son, however, a joy in the
37
hijjliest heaven (v. Bal Gaiiq^adhar Tilak, The- Orion or Kesearchcs in the Antiquity of the' A^edas, Bombay, 1S93 ; Jacobi, Ueber das Festschrift an Rud. von Roth, Tiibinfjen, 1893, 6S-73). 5000 B.C. is the furthest limit to which one can put back the Arvan primeval j community, iu which father-rip-ht was already- ; the basis of the social order. (3) Like as the Aryans, on their havino; wandered into North- west India, did not find before them a land without inhabitants, but one rather with au already double layer of earlier settlers, just as little have the members of the Aryan stock who in the beginninsy of the historical period have their abode in European lands which tu-day we call Greece, Italy, Germany, France — thiis Greeks, Italians, Germans, Celts — just as httle have these found a land formerly free of men in the countries inhabi- ted by them at the commencement of the historic period. The Celts of Gaul, the- Teutons of Germany, when they emero^e in the lio-ht of historic tradition, are certainly not in blood any lono-er of one stock. The more recent Science of Aryan Lang-uasfes and Anti- quity, startinsr from the observation that the widely diversfinsf paths taken by Low Latin in its development to the Romance Languages of the present day are based to an important degree upoir the variety of peoples who adopted the Roman sounds — starting from this observation one seeks iu the greater or lesser mixture of non-Aryan elements in pre- historic times to explain the gi'eater or lesser degree of rerj.oval of a lingual stock from the Aryan proto-speech. The knowledge that among Germans and Celts already at the be- ginning of their historical period one can no longer speak about a unity of Aryan descent in accordance with blood, this knowledge must be made use of in all provinces of Aryan archaeology.
Once granted that amonar tliis or that Aryan people — let ua say Germans, Greeks, or Italians — there are to be found stray cases of juridical right which at bottom are only intelligible in the light of descent in the female line, should not in such cases att«ntion to the three points auduced, combined with consideration of the facts which we have learned to know within the British area, pre- vent us from blindly supposing that we had here before us rudimentaiy organs of a social organisation which in principle among the Aryans must have already more than 5000 years before have been overcome, if it had at all formerly existed among them? Should not then the supposition lie more near at hand — always presupposed that without descent in the female line one cannot get on — to suppose that here we have traces of a non-Aryan l^rimitive population, assimilated in somewhat strong proportions — a population in which, as among the primitive peoples of Britain and Ireland, descent in the female line held the field?
One point I would still emphasize'. As a matter of fact, here and there actually existent cases of mother-right have been pointed out; further, a social order with descent in the male line, along with traces of mother-right, has been pointed out; but a proof that the social order based upon mother-right has anywhere, "without extraneous influence," developed itself to patriarchy — such a proof one has not earnestly attempted, still less anywhere given. One simply takes mother-right (matriarchy) as self-evidently the antecedent step to a social order based upon patriarchy. With the same, and perhaps with greater right, one may re- gard matriarchy and patriarchv as the oppo- site poles of developmen't starting from a like basis. With like right one can regard a perfected matriarchy as an order of society which of itself does not develop itself into
39
patriarchy. Let tis suppose that the politics- of Imperial Eome had uot led to a conquest of Britain; that Britain, lyin^ over against Gaul, had been left untrodden by Eoman legions, as was actually the case with Ireland, lying over against the Romans of Britain — what would have happened then? Britain and Ireland, probably like the Germanic North (Denmark, Scandinavia), would have emerged from the seventh-eighth century onwards for the first time more and more into the light of history; on its southern coast, on the east coast far northwards as well as far inland, Germanic tribes — Angles, Jut«s, Saxons — would have settled, just as in Caesar's time Celts possessed those parts. Behind these Germanic peoples, alone the west coast, there would have been settled a people speaking a Celtic idiom (Cymric), and in Ireland, as well as in the Caledonian Highlands, a closely- related Celtic idiom would have been spoken by the inhabitants. To judee according to language, one would accordingly have found before one in the British Isles Germanic and Celtic Aryans, just as in the first century b.c. Celtic and Germanic Aryans settled in France and Germany. Inasmuch as without the Roman superiority in Britain Christianity would have taken firm root on British and Irish soil 200-300 years later, a powerful helping factor in the more speedy assimilation of the social order of tue subjugated non- Aryan papulation to the quite differently organized society of the conquering Aryan Celts would have fallen away. In the social polity, in the juridical conditions among tho supposed Celtic-Aryan poijulation in West and North Britain, as well as in Ireland, it were not only merely possible, but very pro- bable, that many more evident remnants of a former matiiarchal system would have beea found than one — falsely, as I believe — credits the Germans with. One would, perhapS;,.
Tiave still fouud in North Britain amonor the Celtic-speaking (thus Aryan) population the rule of succession in the female line. The totally false conclusions which one would draw nowadays, in spite of points one and two above emphasized, are evident; likewise, too, the application to the questions proposed above. The solutions of these questions in the sense hinted at could be further made more exhaus- tive by a thoroug-h-ffoing investigation as to whether and to what extent in the fixed legal right of the island Celts forms of law are to be found wliich with more or less certainty must come from the matriarchal system of the subjugated and assimilated primitive population. This would yield instructive parallels to ^Germanic forms explained by some from a pretended pre-Deluvial Aryan Matriarchate. For the legal system of the island Celts, Cymri, and Irish, we have exten- sive codifications written in the native lang- uage. The "Cyvreithiau Hywel Dda" con- tain as basis the Cymric law valid in different parts of Wales in the middle of the tenth cen- tury; the edition of the same — Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales, London, 1841 — is tolerably good, the accompanying English translation tolerably trustworthy; and F. Walter, in his woi-k "Das Alte Wales, Bonn 1859," has done good preparatory work. With regard to Ireland, the case is quite altered. Several collections and tractates on single topics are preserved and edited. In the first rank, what goes by the' name of the "Senchas Mor" falls to be considered. The native tra- dition ascribes this codification of Irish law to a commission held imder Patrick's presidency. In reality, the redaction that has come down to us dates from the end of the tenth century (Zeitschrift fur Deutsches Alterthum B. ■35.85). The written tradition of this and of other documents written in Irish is, however, much later and more corrupt than the Cymric
41
collection; tlie edition — Ancient Laws of Ire- land, Vol. I., Dublin, 1865; II., Dublin, 1869; III., Dublin, 1873; IV., Dublin, 1879— is, as reo^ards the text, more than imperfect, and the Eno-Ush renderino' in all cafscs of ■difficulty is absolutely worthless. Monsieur D' Arbois' Resume d' un cours de droit Irlandais: Paris, 1888-1892 (4 broschures) does not help us mucn further. Thi-ough a •bold Ilussar-ride tliis province can not be con- quered; heavy artilleiy, rather, is necessary, and tliis the believei-s in pre-Deluvial and post-Deluvial Aryan Matriarchy do not seem to have at their disposal.
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE.
Principal Rhys gives the following as "the inscriptions which appear to be for certain more or less Pictish in point of language" : —
I. ehtarrmuonn — (at) Scoouie.
3. Drosten-ii^e Uoret et Forcus — St Vigeans.
5. Maqqo Talluorrn-ehht Vrobbaccennevv — Aboyne.
7. (1) Iddaiqnnn Vorreoin ipua losir — Newton. (2) Edde ecnum Vaur, «fec. — New- ton.
8. (1) Eddarnonn — tumo — Brodie.
9. Allhhallorr edd Maqq Nuuvva rreimg — Golspie.
II. — alluorraun luirract pew Cerroccs — Burrian.
12. xTtocuhetts: ahehhttmnnn : hccwevv; Nehhtonn — Lunasting.
14. (2) Ehtecon Mor — Coningsburgh.
15. besmeqqnanammov^-ef — Ninian's Isle.
16. (1) Crroscc: Nahhtvvddadds: dattrr: ann — Bressay. (2) Berrisef: Meqqddrroann
42
The learned writer then sums up — "Here ■we have a certain number of inscriptions which appear to be more or less Pictish, so let the advocates of the Celtic theories come forward and explain these inscriptions as Celtic. Let those who cherish the Welsh or Brythonic theory — for they seem to be just now fore- most— take the carefully written and punctu- ated Og:am from Lunasting : — x Ttocuhetts : ahehhttmnnn : hccvvevv : Nehhtonn, and let them explain it as Welsh, and I shall have to confess that I have never rightly understood a sina-le word of my mother tongue. If they cannot explain it so, let them explain it a3 any kind of Aryan. Till then I shall treat it as unintelligible to me as a Celt, and as being, ao far as I can judge, not Aryan." — (Rhys iu Proceedings of the Saciety of Antiquaries of Scotland, May 9th, 1892).
NEIL MORISON, THE PABBAY POET.
T5) EIL MORISON was born at le-na- I / Sitli, near Scanista, Harris, in 1816.. For forty-one years lie was a sliep- herd without goin^ out of his native ncÌGfhbourhood save once or twice by steamer to Portree, and possibly once ta Greenock for a few days. The periods of his life map themselves out as follows: — (1> At Cleit-na-ducha, with Mr Macrae, son of Mai^hstir Fionnladh, a former minister of North Uist; (2) at Scarista with Mr Mac- donald; (3) in the Isle of Pabbay, with Stewart of Ensay. It is the new house of Ensay that he celebrates in "Oran na Lùch- airte," and it is of a member of the same family that he sings in "Marblirann do Mr Uilleam Stiubhart/' who died on board' ship on the homeward voyage from Africa, whither he had essayed to bring tidings of g-lad things — of the things which have proved themselves to be best. In was in Pabbay that he lived most of his life, so that Neil Morison may fittingly be called the Pabbay Bard. But Pabbay, i.e., the Pope's Isle, so named from the produce of its fertile soil, having in pre-Norweo-ian times been at the disposal of the missionaries of the day, was for the poet unspeakingly lonely. Ho com- plains of its being more of a prison than the Indies. He scans the tillage operations in
44
St Kilda — tlia Hiort clia clHith dhomh s gu'n cunnt nd'n t-aiteacli — and is hemmed in by the bounding main. It is a lonely isle, and little wonder in "Oran a Chiaualais" — a song of solitude, in which he alludes to his in- ability to write — that he easts longing eyes •on Blival, under whose shadow he was reared. But he liad the society of his wife and young children — of Fergus, to whom later the satire "'Oran Eithir Fhearaguis" was dedicated; and of Donald Maclean. All of these had the opjjortumty of learning Neil's songa of the period. To the intelligent Donald Mac- lean the Bible, Connell's Astronomy in Gae- lic, and Neil Morison's songs were a suffici- ent library, and it is to this companion of the poet and the poet's daughter at Cleit- na-ducha that the honour falla of having most correctly preserved in memory the songs of the Pabbay days. It is from these two and from Miss Catherine Macleod of Borve that I have written down the poet's compositions, which are exceedingly relished by Harrismen, many of whom can give snatches of them.
The poet was a man of blithe and merry nature — "duine air leth sunndach toilichto air nach fhacas gruaim riamh" — and he de- lighted in singing his songs to his children. The continual loneliness, however, was apt, especially in winter, to nurture a feeling of the eerie, and to foster a dread of the spirit? oi the night, who are so dangerous to human kind. In "Oran an Eagail" he recalls an experience famiUar to us all. The air of the last song is one invented by Mairi nighean Alasdair Euaidh, and the lines " chuireadh xoimh ban-Leodacli," &c., refer to th» Pabbay banishment of the Queen of Modern Gaelic poetry. I never knew formerly of her having been sent there, but her cauatie ■wit was a thorn in the sides of so many, and so frequently to her own disadvantage.
45
that she may at one time or another have been sent to Pabbay, as well as on another occasion elsewhere.
He latterly, in the service of Mr Mac- kenzie of Luskintyre, lived at Cleit-na- ducha, a place in Harris, which would in pure Gaelic be Craif^dhubh, i.e., black cra^. Clait (in Danish "klint") is from the Norse "klettE," a rock cliff; in the plural, a rang^e of crags; kletta-skora — a scaur. Final R was silent in Norse by the time this word was taken over by the Gaels. Cleit carries with it nowadays the notion of rocks by the seaside. Here he lived for fourteen years : hei-e ke died in the spring of 1882 in his sixty-sixth year, survived by a son and two daughters and grandchildren. His wife's nami? was Raonuid Nic-ill-Sheathain, from Skye, by whom he had in all seven children. He was carried to his fathers in Scarista, where Lord Macaulay's ancestor, a former minister of Harris, lies buried.
The poet was tall, dark-eyed, glas sau aghaidh, land one of Nature's gentlemen. ■\Then he was eighteen he composed his first song, very likely one to Kirsty Bruce, his first sweetheart, on whom he composed a number, of which the love song with which I begin is the best. "Oran an Eich Odhar" is one of his early songs. "Oran Càinidh an Rodain" is possibly the last, with the exception of a hymn he composed before dying, and which has in all likehhood gone with him to Heaven.
He ccmposed many songs which are now irrecoverably lost. He was somewhat shy in his latter days of dictating his own poems to such even as might have wished to pre- serve them. It was a result of modesty, perhaps of native shyness, with the sens,:, tco, that his poems dealt with secular themes, which, though popular with the young, were still Grain Dhiomhain. With a former gifted
Tninistpr of Harris, the late Eev. Chaxles IMaclean, be was on very intimate terms. They wera cronies for a long time, and the minister, according to credible report, made a transcription of his earlier songs, which seems to have gone lost. This clergyman's widow, writing from Ullapool, reports a fearch among her htisband's papers to have been in vain. The lat© Donald Mimro Mori- son — Iain Gobha's son — who was to the poet a good friend, wrote down the love song which opens this collection, and as it is in the handwriting of his Leacli teaching days, that must have been over thirty years ago. As his version contains two stanzas which are not in mine, I have given it in prefer- ence. A version of this song has been popu- lar on tlie mainland — Mr Sinclair's "Oran- aiche" gives it. That, along with three stanzas of "Moladh na Liichairte," ia all that has come to me in writing. The re«t, but for this present effort, would have also perished.
The poet lived an exemplary life, and did what he could to make others happy. T»ars before he was invited by Iain Gobha to re- cite his poems to him at Leacli. The ageing saint was ever interested in the efforts of r,h® generations younger than himself, and he madtì no exception in the case of Neil. They were not blood relatives, and were of a differ- ent sept of Morisons. Iain Gobha, who was a most consummate poetic critic, heard him repeat all the "Grain Dhiomhain," and told him he had once a day composed many such himself, but had given them up. He dis- suaded his junior in years from indulging too freely in satire, adding that, though a beneficial weapon, it was to be discreetly used. He counselled him to adopt worthy themes, and concluded the interview with
47
the remark — "Bitliidk tliusa iia do dliuine math fhathast" — "You will be a good man yet."
After Iain Goblia's deatli it fell to the lot of his poetic survivor, who was twenty-six years his junior, to compose an elegy, which exhibits want of maturity in this branch cf his art, and is neither firmly knit together, nor without pal^^able demerits. This first elegy cannot have given general satisfac- tion, and one detects a reference to this fact in the opening l:nes of the second elegy — "Cliù Iain Gliobha" — composed in the poet's thirty-sixth year or so —
"Bho'n is 'fear-fòghluim' mi air a cheàird sa Luch-brithimh Gàilig 'na tugaibh beum Air camnt mhi-iiilmhor neo-dhireach, lubte Nach gabh dhomh dlùthadh na cur na oheil.' "
It was to remedy these defects, of which the poet himself was conscious, that, after some interval, he composed a second elegy, which at onf9 gave pleasure to all who loved Iain Goblia, an elegy wJiich is a worthy tribute to one to whom tribute was due. Though there are some weak touches, it is one of the most exalted efforts of the modern Gaelic Muse — one that would alone secure him a place of honour among the select bards cf the Gael. In its workmanship it is vastly superior to the frst, so that one cannot well institute any comparison between them. It shows hew the memory of the saint was cher- ished by him, and how much he imbibed, cr was beginning to imbibe, of what was best in his teaching. The gloaming of an autumn evening was falling upon land and sea as Iain Gobha's son and I were, in har- vest, 1892, wending our way by Borve, when Catherine Macleod, with a lapful of sand- eels, glistening in the t^vilight, was return- ing from the sea-besich, and sung it to the
48
air of "Coire Cheatliaicli," the melancholy cadences of which were ever and anon dee]i- ened', as in natural counter-point, the wail' of mournful joy being carried on the even- ing breeze to the sound of the sea billows — by the low-throated waves of the Atlantic as they broke and boomed upon the rocks. Ceit Nic Leoid's voice rang clear. Her ver- sion was as the poet left it forty years before, as was confirmed by its correspond- ence with that of Mrs Macleod of Tarbert (Harris), an intelligent lady, who after- wards gave an additional stanza. Eoghan Morison had never heard this elegy on his father sung before. A few stars began to glimmer over Harris. I was deeply moved, and God was above us all.
Oxford, May, 1896.
OEAN GAOIL.
LUINNEAG.
Ho ro gu'm bi mi Ga d' chaoidh ri m' bheò. Ma threig thu mise Cha lughaid orm thu; Nan tigeadh tu'n rathad Bii tu m' aighear s mo rim S nam faighinu do litir Gu'm *briosgainn a null. I. Air do m'inntinn bhi strith riut S a sir dol mu'n cuairt Air an ribhiun oig chùl-duirm, G amlu-ac dliith air a snuadh; Ghabh mi tlachd na do bhainnteachJ Ann an cainnt nach gabh luaidh S mi bha togarrach falbh leat Air feadh gharbh— chriochan tuath. Ho ro, &c.
49
II.
Tha mo cliridlic co luaineach
Ei diiilleach na craoibh
Nuair bliios e air ^hhiasad
Le fuaclid us le o^aoitli;
Bho nach d'labhair mi 'facal riiit
A bha fodli mo shuim —
Dli' fhhs seo ua gliath-erearraidli
Fodh m' asnaicheaii taoibb.
Ho ro, &c. III. Do cbeiim air an driùchd Madiiinn ciùiii ris a gflireiu Sioda ri dearrsadh Biio àirde do chleibli A dli'ionnsuidli do shàilean Gu 'm b ailleachd leam fein Mi biii teannadli na d' cliòir, Clàistinn còmkraidh do bhèil.
Ho ro, ifcc.
IT.
Gu'n teid mi san ùir aJr Mo dhùnadli sna clair, Ailleachd do ghnùis bidli Na m' shùilean gu brach, Dk'fhag tliu neofsliunntacli Mi 'direadh nan àrd Muigli aig fuarain nam beann Anns gacli am s gun mi slàu. Ho ro, &c.
V.
Ged tha mi na m' chiobair A direadh nam beann A cruinneachadh chaorach Feadh raoutan us glileann, S aun a theid mise mach far An cluinn mi do chainnt, Gu'm bu leasachadh slàint leam Do lamh chur na m' laimh. Ho ro, &c.
50
<jur a biun' thii ri d' clilàistinn Na ealtaiun nan sjicur No'm pianno ri ceòl S cluiche seolta ri teud No a chuthagf air Ion Latha ceòthach air gbleus No &meorach nam badan Air meangan fodb gbeug. Ho ro, &c.
VII.
Do Shleiblite nam bradan Far an deacbaidh tu tbkmb, Nacb mise bha mar riut Oun leabaidh acb earn; Cba b'fhaireacbadh gòracb Leam t' eòlas s do gbnàtbs, Bu bbinne le m' cbhiais thu Na fuaim a cbiùil àird. Ho ro, ifcc.
VIII.
Diluain air an ratbad S mi falbb leis an spreidh Chuala mi naigbeacbd, Tbug mo cbridbe-s as leum, Gii'n d'tbainig uat litir S gu'n do cblisg mi gu leir Mo smaointcannan marbba Obabb iad tearbadb o cbeil. Ho ro, &c.
Am meadhon na mara ■Ged bbitbinn na m' sbuain Do gbradb bhitheadh laiste Oa m' bbeotbachadb suas; Cba teid mi ar aicbeadb Gu bracb dba'n an t-sluagb Nacb tu'n aon te a b'fhearr leam A db' fbas oirre gruag. Ho ro, &c.
51
X.
Tha fear eil' ann sa bliaile Tha ga d'iarraidh gu teann, A dhianadh do sfbabliail Ged bhitlieadh tu cam. Gun cbaoirich giin otliaisg Gun ghobbair gun mbeann, S nan dianadb e t' fbaicinn Bli tu taghadh na bbiodb ann. Ho ro, &c.
Tha mo sbiiilean air sileadh Mar fbrasan o'n aird Mo rasgan air losgadb Aig teotbad do ghràidb Fodb eagal fodli iraradidb Fodb imcheist gacb la Gu'n toir mac a Ghoill uam tbu S nacb buanaicb mi d' lamb. Ho ro, Sec.
XII.
Ri feamainn a cbladaicb Cba bbi sinii a stritb Le corran ga 'buain s ga Cur suas air ar dr(u)im S ann tbeid tbusa 'Sbleibbte Far an eibhinn beat bbi S tbeid mise na d' dbeigb Dh'aindeoin Cleir no cruaidb-bbinn. Ho ro, <fcc.
52
OEAN A CHIANALAIS.
FONN
Och cliòn mar thà mi us mi 'n am aonar Is ciaiiail dJi'fhàg' iad mi 'n seo 'n am onar Och mo dhiobhail nach mi bla' air tir ann Am miillacli Bhlitli-bhal far am b' òg robli mi.
I. Gur mi tlia cianail 'san eileaii fhiadhaicli Gur fliada 'n iar e cha'n fliiacli an t-ait' 9 'S olc am priosan e seach na h-Innseaun Do dh' fliear a dliitead airson na m.eàirle.
II. Nur ni mi lùbadh a muig-h mu'n chùl aig' Tha h-Iort clio dlùth dliorah s gu'n cunut
mi'ii t-aiteach A til' aio^ ail t-sluagli ami, gur culaidli tliruais
mi Bhi glaiste suas ann le cuauntaii gàiricli.
III. Mo bbean cbo neònacb. s mo clilann clio
gòracli S nach diau ead comhradh domh na ceòl-
gàire Ta mi gnu solas 'ii am àite còmhnuidh Ach Dombnull gòrach le seacaid bhàn air.
IT.
'N uair thig an geamhradh bithidh mi fo
charapar Gur dlii do'n Teaminill mi 'u am na dàis-
neachd Mi na m' dhroch shaighdear air feadh na
h-oidhche Gu'n duiue dh'fhoighniceas ciamar tha mi.
V.
Mar tha Fearagus cha diau e seanachas Is duine balbh e 'tha marbh 'u a nadur Tha crith 'u a ghluiuean le fuachd na Dùd- lachd
53
S mar dh'fha^ an Ixitbs cad giin 'dhiùlt ead tamh dha.
VI.
Nan diauaiun sgriòbbadh giir fliad o dh'-
inusinn Do nabuidh dileas na tliill mo nadur. Mar cbothrom luaidhe ri m' chridhe fuaighte Ga m' dhianamh gruaimeacli a Luain 's a
Shàbaid.
Ei tide ghailbbeacli bithidli toirm na fairge
Ei creagan garblia a' stairiricb laidir
Mar tboruun geambraidb bbiodb eadar
bbeanntau S mar stalla teann oir an ceann 'g a spairnich
TIU.
Bitbidb Druim-na-beisde 'n uair ni i eirigh Gu'n cluinn tbu 'beucal le seideadb graineil 'N a steallaibb gle-gbeal 'dol dba na speur-
aibb Toir' dbiom na greine s Beinn Sbleibbe
Bbearnarai.
IX.
Ge geal le neònain na raoiutean còmbnard Gu'm b' fbearr 'bbi 'm mòinteacb nam mòr
bbeann arda Nan gilean lùgbuibor, nan geugan cùbbraidh A bbeireadb ùracbadb dba mo sblàinte'.
X.
Coire Bblitb-bbal' is trie air m' inntinn Le fhuarain fbior-ghlain bu chubbraidb fail-
eadb Biolair uaine a' fas m' a bruaicbibb Gur mor an suairabneas do sbluagb an àite.
XI.
Gacb lus is boidbcb air an tulaicb cbombnard A macb o'n t-sròin 'dbiananib Ion lis àracii Do dbaoine breòite 'am bailtibb mora 'S e ebur n'n sroin 'bbeireadb beò o'n bbàs iad.
XII.
Mu bhruacli do cbaocliain guv pailt na
caoirich N' an craiciouii maotli gheal 's an fhraoch
gu sàmhacli S na li-uain 's a Ckeitein air luim a rlieidhlein A ruith 's a leumraick gun eis o'm màthair.
XIII.
Cha teirigeadli Gàilig ga cur 's an dan seo A dk' inuseadk ckàsan do nàbuidk eòlack Ack bko uack f keàirrde mi 'bkeag an tratk-3' Gu fan mi samkack 's cka ckan mi'n còrr dketk.
OEAN AN EAGAIL.
LUINNEAG.
H-itkill nlkill agiis o-kò H-ìtkill o-ko kòireannan; H-ìtkill utkill agus o-kò H-ìtkill o-ko kòireaunan, H-ìtkill utkill agus o-kò H-ìtkill o-ko kòireaunan; H-ìtbiU u k-ullill ò Gkeòbkradk bko ko k-itk-il-an.
I. Gur k-e mis' 'tka fodk mkulad Tka leaun-dubk air mo skàrackadk Ann an Eilean Dubk Pkabbai ■'S beag a tk'agam-s' a dk' àbkackd dketk; 'N uair a bkios mi gun lukòine A' tional òtraick nam bàgkannan Gur k-i feamainn na ceilpe 'Bkitkeas a' goil a bkuntàta dkomk.
II. Geamkradk fad' air bkeag cuideackd 'S e tkug buileack drock sknuadk orm, M àite còmknuidk s mo tkuineack Dlùtk air tulack nan uagkannan;
'N nair a cliiaras am fcasi^ar Bidh an t-eagal ga m' clmairteachadh, Cha'n fhalbli mis' giin mo bhata 'S car na m' òmhaicli mu'm buailear mi. III.
Mii ni 'n cuilean dubh draiindan Their a' chlann rium an cuala tu Their a bheau le guth fanu rium Las an ^amp 'o 's e fuath a th'ann; Bheir mis' an sin grad lcuni As a' chathair gii bruailleauach, M'fheòil air chrith air mo chnàmhan, Leigeil "'Pharaoh" 'g a fhuadach bhuaina
IV.
'S theid an doius a chrannadh Le barantas dùnaidh air, Clach eòrna hr Liugaidh Chur gu h-iosal ri lùdagan; Sparrar iarunn us maidean Ghabhadh seachnadh ri chulaobh-san 'S gus an teid i 'n a bordaibh Cha tig bòcain ar n-ionnsuidh-ne.
Gu bheil TeamimiU an t-sagairt Air an starsnaich 's cùis uamhais e Le chrois Phàpanaich fhèin Chuireadh geimh air na fuamhairean Air a' bhmueag 'n a seasamh O nach leig sibh gu lualh dhuinn i! 'S nach i bh' aig Seonaid Nic Phàice Gu dianamh f àisneJlPllll han*' gruagaicHean.
'S ann timchioll ormsa tha'n gàrradh Cha tig beairn air 's gu'n leumainn i Cha tuit clach gu là bhràth dheth 'S daingean làidir an stèidheadh e, 'S gad bhiodh cabhlach na Bànrighinn 'S iad gu h-ard— cheaunach brèid-ghealach 'S fheudar stad air a chìilaobh Tilhdh smìiid Drùim-na-Bèisd iad.
56
Eilean lomarra fuaraidh
iEilean gruamacli g-un tioraileaclid
Eilean letli-oireacli truao^h e
'N uair 'thig' fuachd us drocli shiantan ann
Chi tliu 'n fliairge 'n a gleaiintan
Tigliinn mar blieanntanuan iargalta
'S bidli mi 'suathadh mo cliluasan
Ma' m buail e air fiar chugam.
VIII.
'S mi nacli iarradh an scalladh. A bhi 'g amhrac nan ciosanaich Stigli bho Hàisgeir nan ron A mach blio sbròn Rhìi Ghrìminnis 'G èisdeachd fuaim Garrai Grànnda 'Nail 'o Bhalai clia bhinn leam e 'S gob Rhii Rhòsagaidh 'm Pabbai Far nach stadadh an drilleachan.
IX.
Clniireadh roimlie Ban-Leodacli
Air fògradli dha'n àite seo,
Rinn i luinncag us crònan
Chuir air dòigh ann am bardaclid dhuinn;
Bhiodh i 'g gearann a cluasan
lomadh uair s cha bu uair dhi e
'G eisdeachd gàirich a chuain
Bha CÌIO cruaidh ris na tàirneanaicli.
X.
Tha e soilleir ri dhearbbadb
Gu'n do mliarbhadli na ciadan ann
Le gaotli tliioram a Mhàirt
Bheireadh an àird blio an t-siabunn ead;
Us cha'n iarrainn mar cheaird
'Bhi 'g an aireamh air lionmhoireachd
Gu'm bu chianail am fàgail
Tighinn am bàrr gun an tiodhlaiceadh.
XI.
Thoir an t-soraidh nam thairis
Gu talamh nam fniheanuan
Far an cinneadh a inliaigbeach
S ua daimh chabrach 'n am milteannan
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Eilid cliaol nan cas fada
Ann an Tleannan na sith-blirntliain
Far am faodadh an sealgair
Spòrs an anamoich bhi ciuuteach dha.
XII.
'S am bradan seang far an fhior nisg Bhios a' direacli gu Inatli-clileasach. Ann an linneachaibli lùbach Ghlinne chùbhraidli nam fuarauuan W fhearas chuideachd do dh' inntinn A bhi stri aig- na bruachannan Slat us streang aig a' fnlang Gus an tugadh e' n uaclidar air.
OEAN A BHUNTATA.
EINNEADH S A BALIADHNA N DO LOBH 'X DO GHROD IAD, 1846.
S boolid a gliaoir anns gnch duthaich Aig claim daciue ga d' iouudrain O thainig plàigk ann san ùir A rinn t' fhògradh.
II.
Dh' fhag do' n t-sluaigk air dhroch bias tiiu Mar an gual ann an dreach thu S tu cho cruaidh ris na clachau. Fodli d' choiuhdach.
III. Thar gach seorsa bhiodh aca Bu tu 'm pòr s an robh 'n taice Do gach aon nacn robh pailt Ann an storas.
IV.
O mhiosg na talmhainn a b' ihearr Thainig sgriob ort ro gheàrr Ach na mhair dhiot feadh bhàgli Ann am mointich.
S ioma dì-mios us tàir Bha thu 'giùlan 's g-ach cearn Gad do thog'air tliii 'in fàgail Clia b' neouach.
VI.
Bhi 'g ad clirocbadli air stàilinn Ann am priosaniian pràisich S Tiisge goillteach an aird Chum am beoUean.
TII.
Gu'n deadliadh cuibhrige daraicli A's do clieaun 'g a tlieann sparradh Gus am fàgadk do neart Anu sa clieò tliu.
VIII.
S nur a blieirist' a bliàn tliu Gus do tliaomadli s a chlar Gu'm. bitlieadli letli-dusan làmli Agad còmlila.
IX.
S learn clia'n iogliriadh thu theicheadli S a liuthad aon a bha breilh ort A thug toll air do sheiche Le'n òrdag.
X.
Us cuid eile ga d' riabadh A cur "forka" na d" chliabhaich O nach b' fhiii leo t' fhiachainn Le' m meòirean.
S nam faiciste sgall ort A dhianamh grian le teas samhraidh Eeadh do thilgeil air cheann Na chuil-mhòine.
XII.
No t' fhàsgadh gu teann S do chur sios chum na gamhn' Gus an adhairc a phlanndaiceadh Bòidheach.
Cha robh clèireacli na tàilleara Niall Mac Eogfhain us Ian Bàna Domh'll Og Fear C'linoc Ard Nacji b'e 'u doii^h.-san
XIV.
A bill crumncacliadli bliiastan A leir-sgrios tliu ga 'm biadbadli Spreidh a mbiosadh bho chian A bhi neò-gblau.
XV.
Fear nacb b'fhiach leo gu 'm b'fhiù e Ee'ag a tbilgeil 's a chùl-tigh Gus an tigeadb mios dùdlachd
Na reòtachd.
Ni e biadli dJia na mucan A chur saill agus suit orr' Ach a nis cha'n eil gutb. Air an dòigb sin.
XVII.
S bba mor-sbluagb dba'iu bn cbeaird Bbi ga d' itheadb s ga d' cbàineadb Tbu'irt gur bcatha bba failigeacb Breòit' tliu.
XVIII.
Tbilg ort gun bbi fallain Leis nacb b'fbiacb tbu mar arain Tarruing cola air an stamaig S tu neò-gblan.
XIX.
Acb an diugb bu mliatb ac' tbu Gad do bbitbeadb tbu bruicb seacbdain S tu cbo fuar ris an t-sneacbd' Air Stratb-Leòsaid.
XX.
S matb an còcair an t-acras S e nacb dianamb ort tarcuis Ged a bbeireadb tu'n aileag Dba'n sgòrnan.
XXI.
Blia cuid eiie s^a d' mhalairt Ann an eirig an arlais Leis nach b' fhiach tliu thùbli tartraich Dli'am bòrdaibli.
XXII.
S tu mar tliairneanaicli caismeachd Do na pàisdean bliiodli acracli Ann an eirigh s a mhadiiinu Le solas.
XXI1».
A teannadli dlù rint giis t' fliiacainn S iad ga d' fliksgadh ri "n cliabhaich Gus an sàsuich tliu ciocras Am beòil-san.
XXIV.
S bliiodh cuid eile do cliaileacha Bliiodh ga d' reic airson airgiod Tional stuthan neo-thar(bli)acli leat Gn còisir.
XXV.
Acli '3 iomadli leisgeadar greannach. Leis nach b' fhiacli thu mar arain A ni ath-cliuinge fhad airson Tròcair.
XXVI.
Tliu bhi ac' ann am falacli Ann sa cliùl taigli fo'n talamh.
5 ri teannaclid na gaillinn
Gil fòir orr.
XXVII.
Kuaraidli H-iortacb s Ian Màrtainn
6 Aonghiis boclid Clicann-ua-tràgliad S iad uacli treigeadli le grain tliu
Mar blieò-slilaint.
XXVIII.
Eeiceadli (i)àd an cuid aodaicli Ann an geall airson t' fhaotuinn S clia 'n fhaigk iad ri 'n saoghal An leòir dhetli.
61
XXIX.
S b' iad na làthaicliean ceaita Nuair blia cinneachadh pailt ort Us nacli cluinnteadli "collection" S an diithaich.
XXX.
G a tliional aig daoinc A h-uile Di-h-aoine S 'g a tliarruing s 'pf a shlaodadk G' au ionnsiiidli.
XXXI.
Tha 'n Eiuaidhean air seacadli S an aodiiinn air cairteadh Le goinne s le acras
Ga d' ionndrainn.
XXXII.
Aig maorach a chladaicli Air am fagail olio laga Us nach. eirich iad ceart Air an glùinean.
XXXIII.
Tlia na raointean a clileaclid 'N cuid rod a bhi g at leat Air tionndadli gu gaiseadh Mi-ghnathaicht.
XXXIV.
Air crionadli s air seacadh Mar lusan ri gaillionn Gun fhius ciod e'n talamli Is feàrr dliut.
XXXV.
Tlieid cuid leis na spealan A sgath dhiot a bliarra Cho lou>. ris an talamh 'S e's aill leo.
XXXVI.
'S cuid eile 'ga d' spiouadh A nuas as do flu-iamlian S ga d' fliagail-sa siiios Fodli na failean.
XXXVII.
Ann san luchar b'e 'a solas Bhi ga <i' fliaicinn fo d' chòmlidacli Fodk do dhitheaiman boidheacli. Us driùchd orr.
XXXVIII.
Ann an ciaradli an fheasgair lad a liùgadk s a preasadli S a glirian a tighinn deasarr Na curs orr.
XXXIX.
Nuair a bliiodh tu Ian abuicli Bliiodli ua li-ùbhlan na'n gadan A tuiteam sua claisean Gach tùbli dbiot.
XL.
Ma clireidear mo bhriathran Bidh. cuimbn' air a bliliadhna S na dh'fhalbh thu le liabhrus Na h-nireach.
OEAN AN TI.
Cuidhticbidh mi'n diugb a cbeaird
S e 'n diugb Di-màirt, a Dbo'ill,
Cba'n e buileacb cràdb mo cbnamb.
Acb nair airson nan otbaisg
A tbeicb bb'uauL mocb-tbratb la na Sabaid
S mis' 'riaraobadb mo cbàileacb
Leis 'n stuth a cbreach mi mar a tba mi
A dianainh. dail ga h-òl-sa.
Bba 'cbearc-ruadk le goin us striip oirr Us driùcbd a' tigbinn m'a bord. A tilgeadb a cinn os a ciouu S mo sbùil-s' oirre ma doirt i
63
S bha Eaomiid cus a b' fhearr gu stiùireadh Ag eigheacli cum a "hatch" dùinte S cuiuihnich ma chailleas i a sùgh Nach diii i cur "-u bord dhuinn.
Cha mho a b'fheàirrde mur bu mhisd' ;
An t-uisgearlach s dath ruadha
Gun air fiù agus bias milis
S olc a ghibht dha'n t-sluagh e
Gad do ghabh iad nice ciccras
Gun dad feum innt ach casg miamia
Tha i ri marbha' nan ciadan
Le droch bhiadh s gun bhuaidh oirr.
IV.
Ach s aithne dhomh eu leòir s an dùthaicb
A ghiùlaineas n'am pòcaid
ITibhean nan cearc a falbh na sprùiUeach
Gu biithaintean mar stòras
Dh'iarras : tomhais dhomh dhi ùnnsa
S tomhais leis cairteal siiicair
Ach fiach nach mill thu air mo chliii
Nach seall tnu 'n guin na shròichdean.
Curraicdhean an cinn (i)ad srachdtc' Gu brcac geal le otraich S gun fill nam brogan air an casan. Air sgagadh ta (i;ad le mointich; Their iad rium gu'm b' fhearr i aca Xa'n gun is fhearr a thig a Glaschu, S CO math leo i bhuath us aca Mar a cairt i'n sgornan.
Ga be rud a th 'ann an tùbh-sa
S bruideil bhi toirt groat air
An t-siathamh earann diag de'n phimnd
B'e'n spuilleadh e air storas
Nur a gheobh thu e gu teann
An dcighidh a cheangal 'uad laimh
riur tachair a luach a bhi ann
Gu'n teid am peaun gu sgroban.
Siud am fear nacli diiilt a bliri S lamli gv. rian ga stiuireadh TLig na ceitliir dliut »u sia A riadh am beao-an ùine.
Gad a tlauirt mi 'n uiread ribh Gu'n. robh mi fhin an toir oirr Gad s i a b' aobhar dlia mo sgitlis A siubhal fritli us m,ointicli. Gun kite ann san cluimiinn miaghal Ga b' mlailtean nam nacli fliiachainn S mi ri fritheacli 'n dùil jjur h-iad Bhiodli fodh sgiatli nam bruachan.
Nur dh' fliàs mi fhein s an cù clio fann
Gur s^ann a dhianainu eubha
Ga cliur s ga cbasg am feadh nam beann
S an tide a bh'ann cho creubhaidb
M' fhallus a leiglieadh mar a bkum
'Toirt an i^adharc om' dha shuil
M' ioscaidsan a call an lutliais
A lubadh air a cheile.
S truagli nacb robh thu fhein sa do bliràtliair
Far nach traigbeadh 'n dile
A liugbad teagblach bochd a dk' fh.ag sibh
S a cbearn seo dba'n rigbeacbd
E-san ga losgadh gu ceo
S tusa sa bburn tbeth 'tòcadb.
Db' fhag sibk ua miltean dk' easbkuidh
treoir S am pocaid gun da i innte.
65
MOLADH NA LUCHAIKTE. no
OEAN TIGH EASAIDH.
■(Air Fonn Na, "Flowers o' Ediuburgli.")
'S aun latha 'n NoUaig iiire
A cliunnaic mi le in' sliiiilcan
An aitreabh 'tlia mi "n dull a
Glieobh oUù 's on tubli-tuatli;
'Nuair 'cliaidh mi 'steach do'n Kichairt,
'S ?. s.'ieall nil air yacli tiibli dhiom,
Cha mhor nacli d' thug mo shiiilean
Mo thùr uile bhuam;
Aig 'mbeud 's a ghabh mi dh'ioghnadh.
Mu'n chlacbaireachd 's mu'n t-saor-
sneaclid : Cia mar b' urrainn daoine Gach aon diubii 'chur sua.s : 'Toirt xdsg' 'o 'n cliarraig ailblxirui Le pioban iimha 's airgeid, Le glasan 'tha neo-chearbaclij A dhearbiias 'bbi buan.
II.
Ach fhir a chosg na ciadan E.Ì talla nan clacli' sgiamhacli Cha'n 'eil a leithid lionmbor An iar air na caoil; Follaiseach ri fairge. Us gun e fad 'o 'n gbarbhlacb, Gur pailt am bradan tarragheal 'G a mharbhadh ri 'tbaobh. Ge b'fhear mi a bhi eòlacli Bho Eudli'-na-circe 'n Leodhas Gu'n ruiginn Eudli-'-na-h-òrdaig, Cha b'còl domh dhiubh aon; Troimh uinneagan do sheòmair Gu'm marbhaistinn an run as Gun charachadh bho'n bhòrd, no Bho'n chòisir 'bhiodh daor.
Ach fliir nacli fhaca riamb e
Cha clireicleadli tii mo bhriathrau"
'Sanu 'shaoileas tu giir briag tlia
Na m' sgial' aii* a chùis;
Acli bliidh e fbatliast feumail
Do fbear a bbios 'ii a eigiiin
Nur dborcbaicheas na speuran
S a threigeas e 'chùrs'
A steach os cionn Dhim Aruinn
'G a fhaicinn aim saii dearrsaidh ;
Us eagal air roimli Sbàghaidh.
'S au Eàrr air a cùl '
Eomb dhorchadas na h-oidbcbe ;
'S na seòlaidean cbo aimbleathami' ':
'S an ratbad buileach aimbreidb
Feadb staingean us lùib.
IV.
'Nuair lasar do cbuid choinnlean
Ceaun shios us sbuas na stoidJire
Ni seòltaircan na b-oidbche i
Eis aoibbneas le sunnd,
'Se t'uinneag a rinn soillse
Ni's fhearr na solus Hoidbsgeir,
Gur ioniadb fear 'ni fboigbneacbd ;
Co rinn an reul-iùil i
Gu teasairginn nan ànracb ;
A bbios 'an cunnart bàtbiaidb ;■
'G an toirt gu cala sàbbailt', I
Le dearrsadb do rum ; *
Us ead a' ruitb fo'n cbòrsa |
A steacb gu caolas Sbròmaidb,
Gu Bun-an-t-srutb far 'n coir dbaibh.
An ròp 'cbur sa gbrunnd.
V.
'Nuair tbeid an tigb an òrdugb 'S an uidbeam mar is coir dba 'Cba'n fbear gun mbodb gun eòlaa Is coir 'tbigb'nn dba dliitb; Acb Fbearcbair rua.idh na stròine. Ma tbig tbu 'cbaoidb fodh sbeòl ana Gu'm feum tbu do dba bbròig 'bbi Fodb 'n cbleòc' air do cbùl:
Cha'ii fliaioh tlm cead 'bhi 'starachd Anu sios us suas inar b' àbliaist, Le brogau mor Cliinntail ort S fodh 'u sàileau spuir-cliùil, Le'n spìcean 's le'n ciiid thairlean. Air clior 's ma iii ead làracli Nacli g-lanar o-u lath' bliràth e Le sal no le bum.
TJs bho'ii tlia'u tigli clio luaclimlior A thogadh leis an Uachdarau Cba'n fhaigk dliiot-sa suas acli A' cliluas 's au leth-shùil; Mur faigb. tbu dol do'u trannsa Air uaireauuan a dh' amhrac, Gun fliios gu'm bi tliu ann; 'g a Do chrampadli au cùl.
TII.
'S b'e aid au t-eileau fiachmlior Is paillt a chiuneadli fiar aun
An doinionn gheur an Fhaoillich) 'Cur saill air mairt 's air caoirich Cha cliluinn tliu gutli air caoiF Air a h-aon diubh tighinn dlùtli 'S ged 's fogliluimt air a cheàird mi Eis an can ead bàrdachd, Gur fhearr dbomh fuireacli saniliach. Na each a radh rium Gu'm bheil e mo 's daua Dhomh raun a sheinn do'u arcs Nach dean mi dad is feàrr ua Chuir ceàrr bun os cionn.
68
MAEBHRANN DO MHR STIUBHAIET NACH MAIRIONN.
A BHA DO THEAGHLACH EASAIDH. I.
Tha e mar fliàgail aig slioclid Aclhainih.
Gu'n toil- am bas foi chis iad
S cba diaii an àilleachd iii dii sta dliaibli
S cha'u eil ciiil a dli' iiialeachd
Air faotuinii bhuaith oir bha e buaidheach
A dot mu'ii ruairt s gach righeachd,
Tha'ii cruaidh-lann geur fo bkun a sgeith.
Einu lot le eugail mhilltich.
II. S miir mios do cliairdean dhomli dana Dh'innsiiiii pàirt dhei d' ghiùlan Ga faon mo sgobadh ann sa clias Mu theist an àrmuinn chLiùiticli; Cha'n fhemmainn fiannis mu do ghnioinli Oir co'n neach riamh thug sùl ort Na chuir ort eòlas leis nacli bròn /Nacli d' mhair thu beò car iiine.
III. Phiùrain fliior-gblain 's cruaidli ri iniis-
eadli An ni chur criocli air t-uaisle, Plàigh nan Imise a bhi stri riut Fad o thir do dhualchais, Fiabhrus làidir s puiunsean bàis ann Ghreas ri làr clio luatli thu S gun leigh bhi làmh riut dhianamii sta
dhut Gus do tharsuinn bhuaithe.
IV.
Ach's lionmhor Gaedheil fo uchd eididli
Dh'eireadh ua do thòireachd
Nam b'e gu'n saoileadh iad gur foill
A ghabh na Goill air bòrd ort;
Cha d' rug' an Sasunnach sin riamJi
A dhianamh gnianih 's gach dùigh riut.
Air long nan crarmag s i ruith dian
Gur i chuir crìock oho òg ort.
Is e fiamli an àniuùnu s piau a bliàis air
A tha tighinn lamh ri m" iuntinn,
Ar learn gii'ni mi le mo shiiilean
jNur dli'fhag- do liiths s do clili tlm,
Mar chuir ead suas thii auu sau fhuar-
bhrat S til gam glilnasad sinte Gun pblosg a' d' chie fo smaclid do'n eug S b'o sid um beud san righoachd.
Sxiil mar sbeobliag s pearsa dbealbhacli
Aigiieadli liieanamacli aoti'um,
Pailt an gliocas s àrd am misneach'
S moran mios aig daoin' ort;
Gil seoladh ciiau co ni r'nit eiias
Cha d'fhuair' s cha d' rinneadh fbaotuirm
S bu ghrinn do lamli air stiùireadh bare
An agbaidh bàirlinu Faoillinu.
Nam b' ni bliiodh òrdnichte do bhordaibh
A bhi ri còmhradh brxiidhne
Cha robli ball-acaiu blia na d' bhàrc
N"acli toireadh* gair' le mi-gliean
G iarraidh f fhàgail air a clar
Gu 'u tàireadli i gn tir leat
Am feagal do chiir ann sa chnan
Fo bhiun an uamh-bheist millteach.
S bu tu an sealgair direadli garbhlaicli
Is trie a dhearbb do lamhach.
A bhi cinnteach s tu nach diobradh
Bhi toirt CIS dlie'n làn-damh;
Sa bhadan luaohradh ann sa chruadhlach
A tighinn mu'n cuairt gu shmhach
Fo tharruiug fiiird gu"m biocUi an
t-ùdlach A dol gun lùths gu làr leat.
» -tobhradh, tabhradh.
A CHIAD ORAN DO MHORAIR
DUNMORE.
FONN^
Air failliriu illirin ùillirin ò Air fàiiixrin illirin ùillirin ò Air fàillirin illirin ùillirin ò Gur n bòidheach do' clicm-unn Glan soilleir gain sgleò. I.
Nur chnnncas do longa
'Gr àireamli tlionn 'tigbinn o'n Dùn
Si marcach na fairge
Gun cliearb air a cìirs
Tighinii direacb gn Bhàllai
S i cìeàn'sadli fo siùil
S a bratach ag innsfcadk
Go bb'imite fo rùm.
II. Bha na canain 'toirt caismeachd S tu a teannadli ri tìr S mac-talla nau gleanna Os an cionn riu a strì Na creigean a sgealbadh. Le stararaicli nam pìob S tein' adhar nam beanna S' e mar lainntir au Rìgb.
Se do sbluagli a Wia aoibhneacli
Nam cluinntinn do sgenl
Gu'n robh tbu tighinn dbacbaigli
S i agad fo d' sgeitb
A' cbòmbnuidb 'n ad dbùthaich.
N robli bìiirean an fhèidb
TJs pladaraicb a bhradain
Le caismeachd a leum.
Dba na gbleann an robb 'cboill Far an clmmitear na b-eòin Le'n ceileiribb binn S ead 'n ani mìltean gun bhròn
An doire nan gcu^ Muig^h air reidhlcacli nan cnò Ann an Ròdul chraobhacli S na raontaiclioau fcòir.
Na li-cileanaicli aotnnn
Readbadli aontacli 's an niaig
Ri aghaidh na caonnaig
Le faobbar glan cruaidh
Na faicist air raon thu
S do tliaobh g a thoir bhuat
Mur sguireadh am blar
Gu'm biodh bas aun no buaidli,
VI.
Tha Gaidheal Dlinntiiibn Air a chuirm s cha b' ao-còir Cha b'ann o Rliù-Huiuis 33ha 'dhiitlichas no 'choir An coire nam fuar-bheann Far an d' fhuaradh tii òg Aig sail Beinn-na-Leacaiim S an t-Arclaidli 'm bi'n ceo.
TII.
Thig eileadh criiiun cuacliach Mun cuairt air do blaac TJs osannan balla-bhreac Mu chalpa gun smal S e t'eideadh s do shiigradh Blii 's na stiic-blieanna cas 'Dul ri ùdlaicli an flieidli S fhiiil 'n ad leiui air stad.
VIII.
Tha Domhnullach Scarastai S cha dearmad mi 'aiiun Làmh dhearg aii* a ghualainn Le suaicheantas teann Fòghluimte fìrinneach Dìreach gnn mhcang Lo 'ghliocas s le 'ròlais Toirt seòlaidh dha'n champ.
72
Cha robli mi 'n ur fianms
N am riag-hlaidli na bh'ann
CliuiR gàir Dlnuim-nam-biast mi
Gad 'dli'iarrainn. 'blii anii
Ach dh' innseadli dhomh sgiala
Gun fhiaradli gun cham
S mu phosadh an larla
Gu'n criochnaich mi'n rann.
AN DARA OR AN MOLAIDH
do
MHOBAIE DUNMOEE UACHDAEAN NA H-EAEADH.
I.
CTia mliios siobli mi ro dliàna
Gad tliarladh. s nacli iirra mi
Cliii an larla Eiosfliail
Le f iriun a chumadh. dhuibh ;
Gad 'bliitliinn na mo bhard
,S iomadh canain domli furasda
Cha tiig-ainn cliii 'n duin' nasail
No'n dùthclias bho'n d' rus;adh e.
Gun agam ach a Ghaidhi.sf
S pàirt dlii nach eil uil' agam
Ach s i bha ghnath air feadh na ceairi
Ann san ait an d' rugadh mi;
Cha chnir mi idir i fo thàir
S ann innt tha bhardachd urramach.
S e sin a theireadh Donnachadli Ban.
A seinn nan dan a thubhairt e.
III. 'fS tu nachdaran fir Langai S nam beann is glan sealladli dhiubh Far bi na feidh 'n am miltean A direadh s a langanaich ;
73
Na coireacLan s na gleanntan S pailt meann us laosrh-ballach. ami Damh donn 'is lioumhoir miaran Air muUach gxianacli Clieanna-Val.
IV.
S nur clnteadli tu ghreidli uallacli
Air fuaran a bhiolaire
S tu coimliead as na neoile
De an dòigh am frigist orra,
Gill'-ealaich air do cliùlaobli
Do mliialchu-s' a' clisgeartaicli
Do cheil agad 'g a giiilan
Mu'n ruig iiisg' no fliclieadli oirre.
N am tachairt dhnt aig Sron-na/-Scuixt Bhiodh agad spuirt s bu toilicht thu Feidh us bradan s ead cho pailt ann Ga b'e ac a tliogradh tu; Daimh us eildean feadh a clieile A ruith air sgeith nam bealaichean Tarmachain us fraoch-chearc dlionn O thorn gu torn sa phlabarsaicli.
S math thig dliut an t-eideadb. Naeh fbeum a bhi ga tbeannachadh. Ach dealg san darna taoibh dheth. 'Sa fhraoch gu bhi baganta; Thig cuilbhearr to do sgeith dhut ThoUas biana fad astar uat Nuair bhitheas luchd na Beurla Sior eubhachd tha'n t'acras orr'.
Gu'n lùbadh tu do ghlun ris An ùdlaiche bu cheanalta S nur gann a lasadh t'fhùdair Bhiodh smùid ris a teanna^hadh; Air slios nam beannaibh stùcach Bu shunndach ag astar thu Damh donn s e air a thaobh ann San fhraoch roimh do dhealanaich.
74
An Gàidlieal rìgheil air hheag sgìths A dìreadh ris na coireaclian Na èicleadh sealgair gTi neo-cliearbacli Feadh nan g-arbli bheann tosgarlacli ; Cha b'fhear gun hìths a dlneanamh tùirn
riut Bi dìreadh stìican Uisabliail Na Goill us iad a' ràinich Eoimh thairneinicli a gbunn' agad.
S fainichear air an t-srhid
Measg chhicli ann an Lunnainn ort
'Jur nior tha dheth 'n fhuil riorahacli
A direauLi na d' cùuisieauuau
Gur aun san àird an iar bha
Do mlnann-sa bhi tuineaclid ann
Air sratli nam bradan tàrraefcal
S lu seanachas JÙr Uamh-UilI-cadal.
Nuair a readliadh tu mach a dh'rasgachj Readbarl'i strian a chum sa theadan leat Cha b'ibasan e ga d' fhàgail Mur 's ?nàths dlia na Sa;5Tinnaich Nur bhiodli) do dhubhan giar ann Do dhriamlach 'g a tboannachadh Bu ghrinu do làmh a strith rÌF Go tìr ga' thoirt go tanalach.
XI.
Na èideadh geal a ruith gu bras
A Rigb! cha bfhad a leanadh e,
A tighinn bho'n bhùrn bha os a chionn
Bu shunndach thu ri carach ris.
Slat a diasgail, driamlach sniasail
B'e do mhiann mar ealainn e
Gur mòr a b'fhearr leat sid mar cheaird
Na manran luchd nan casagan.
XII.
Bho'n thainpadh tii dha'n dutliaich seo
S tu dh'ùraicli na fasaiinaii
Bha'n toiseacli aig ar sinnscar
Bu dileas 'g an leantuinn thu;
Na Gaidheil blieò ghleusda
Bhi leum s a catb cloiche riut
A riiith iiau each sa reis s guv
Tu fliein bha toirt mosglaidh dhaibh.
XIII.
Cba'n ioghnadh uaill bbi air an t-shiagh
Ri'n canar tuatb a Mhorair seo
A stochxi na b-uaisle cha do bbuaineadb.
An gluasadan tba collach riut;
Tba smear na b-naisle si gun truailleachd
Na do bhuadhaibh corparra
An t-Earach fir-ghlau rigbeil suairce,
Na d' ghnùis tha snuadb na b-onaireachd.
XIV.
Niiair chruinnich tbii do dhaoin air
An raon blia iad eireacbdail
Nuair cbaidh iad ann an ordiigb
Bu bboidheach na fleasgaich iad
Le'n flieilidb pleatach cuacbach
Bu cbuannt iad fo'n deiseacban
S an Dombnullacb Fear Scarastai
Toirt dearbbaidli dbaibb mar sbeasadh. ead.
XV.
Nur cbaidh a pbiob a gbleusadb Air reidblean na faicbe dbuibb Ei cluicb nam porta siubblacb Bu sbunndach an aignidhean; Cbaidh C'abar Feidh a dhannsa Gun mlieang le 'ebuid lasgairean S an t-Earach glan s Ian Stiubhart Gu faicist driiichd le fallus tromb.
XVI.
Bha sitbionn fbiadh aca mar bhiadh Gu pailt air miasan oiseanach Mar bba aig Fionn dba cbuid-sa sluaigh Is trie tbug buaidb sna cogannan;
Deocli gun truailleadh tighinn a nuas Aun sna cuachan gocanta Slainteachan g an 61 gun dith L© sonn neo-clili g a ctosg orra.
S nur shin an dannsa stigli sa clia»mp Gu'n d'iarr thu dram chur doiseil orr' S an glan Ghàidlilig thog thu'n aird Deoch slainte Ban-rigliinn Bhreatainn
doibh ; Gun g-haodli an sluagli o dheas gu tuatli An fhuaim a blia co-fhireagarrach S gu'n thog na h-uaislean air an guaillibh. Leo bhuainne fa dheireadh thu.
Bha "Mhaighdionn h-Earach Eioghail'
Fo sioda s fo brataicluean
A feitheamh gu na thill thu
Air tir o na ceathairnich ;
Nur fhuair i air a bord thu
Gu'n sheòl i gu h-aithghcarr leat
S bu luath i air an fhairge
Na 'n earb air a ghlas fheiirach.
A CÙ1 ri deas s a stiùir gu tuath
Fa chainbe nan dual fulangach
A cumail aodaich gu math reidh
Eomh anail speur mu'n tuiteadh ead,
Sgioba aotrum beothail gleusda
A chumadh strain air fula^an
Troimh Chaolas H-iort 'na bheannaibh
uain' Ag eirigh s bruaichean struthaibh air.
77
CAISTEAL ALLT AN T-SIUCAIR.
Se Caisteil Allt An t-Siucair
Tha sònruiclite ;
Rinneaxih gun. bhuill' ùird
S ann tba'ii noòuaclias,
Dìreach snaidhte dlùth
S © gun char gun liiig
S mor an t-aobhar iiaill
S an Roiun Eorpa e;
Nur thig mi gu dlùth
Dh' amharc adr le m' sliùil
Chionn e bhi n am dliùthaich
Tha pròis orm;
S ged bhitliinn a'm' bhard
B'olc mi ann sa' cheàird
Airson a chuid àilleachd
A steòrnadh dhuibh;
Na h-oisiunean s na h-ninneagan
Tha leinne 'n an cuis-ioghnaidh
Bho thogadh ann an ealamhachd
Nach tuit gu crioch na lathaichean
Mo bheannachd aig na clachairean
A chaith air an cuid saothrach.
Gur mor an t-aobhar thoileachaidh
Dha'n t-sluagh thig gus an Nollaig ann
Bhi danns' air iirlar lobhtaichean
Le farum 'dol s an ruidhle,
Luchd frithealaidh cho aigionnach
Cho ealamh ri na dealanaich
Gun srann ach Beurla Shasiumach
'G a labhairt ann cho ciimteach.
Fear shios tis shuas toirt sporaidh dhaibh
Fear thall s a bhos "g am brosnachadh
Toirt siola stop us botul leo
S Nic Coisealaim 'g a sgriobhadh.
Bha 'm plan air a tharruing Cho faisg air a bhiirn ann S nach luigear a leas Dhol fada 'g a ghiiilan; Bha fuaran fo'n leabaidh S e 'g eirigh bho'n aigeal
Us feadannan cama
Dol a steach anns gach rum dheth,
A mhuinntir nach: fhac e
S beag ioghna a clileaclid ead
Mur saothraicli iad fada
Gu 'choimhead le'n sùilean,
Cha chualas s cha'n fhacas
Bho linn Banrighinn Anna
logkaadb eil' air an talamh
A tlieid OS a chionu-sau,
Ann an ceitean an earrich
Thig a Pharlamaid dhachaigli
S ma chreideas sibh m' fhacal
Bidli aca-san cùirt ann
S gnr mor a chùis-mhaslaidh
Am bothan tha faisg air
Mur cuir sibk e as
Theid a bhlastadh le fùdair,
S a bhaintighearna' caineil!
Nach dian e do cliearcaibh.
A cliionu s gur e ceapan
Is ball' air a chùlaobb.
S tbeir sibh gnr e rannacbd dbanih. Bhi labliairt air a bbriaghad, S nach eil guth no facal ann San ealainn-s ach a bhriag; Tha bhuil oirbh nach fhaca sibh Na h-iiile seòrsa dath bh' air S na dealbhaidhean bu mhaisiche 'N deigh 'm marcadli air a chliathaichj Bha Fionn us Caoilt us Oisean arm. Le saighde geura corranacb 'G an clapadh oir bha colas err Bill togairt dhol a dh' fhiadhach; Bha lòmhainn air a teamiachadh Air eagal ball s gun caraicheadh ead Tromb ghlinn us ead a tabhuunaich A sgalaich ann an iaruun.
79 ORAN AN EICH ODHAR.
A bhean nach sgfuir thu shniamh.
Labbair briatliran air cboireigin
Fiach an tog thu fiaiinis
Mu ghniamb aii eicb uidhir learn
Am fac' thu beathach riamh
Bba cho dian gu bhi 'g obair ris
'S a nise mus e'u t-aog e
Bith do chaol-drom'-sa dona dheth.
Gu'm facas umad bruadair
S bu luatb leam a bhreithneachadh
Thu bhi'n toiseach t' òige
Us spògan mar shearrach ort
Do chruth-sa corra cruinn
'Bhi 'n a thuill s gu'n a dh' aithnich mi
Nach faighist thu gu brath
S gur e'm bàs a chuir spearrach ort.
Gur mise bha gu L^rsach
Mo thruaighe mi mur faighear thu
Ged bha thu air leth-shùil
Gu'm bu tbùmail a's 't-earrach thu
Bu ghramail fo do chliabh thu
Gu haradh nam bearranan
'S a steach bho Rhu-an-Teampuill
A stranntraich le smearalachd.
IV.
TJs mise air mo phianadh
Ga d' iarraidh feadh mhonaidhean
Mar faighear thu gu siorruidh
S mor iarguin. Nic Thoruill ort
Gad bha thu cam bu mhath ann
Airson feum air choireigfin
Le sopag chrion do dh'fhiar fo d' bhial
Am biadh am biodh tu toilicht' air.
TTs mar e'm bàs 'thighinn ort cho tràtli A muigh air sgàtli nam bearranan Gu'm b'e do mliiaim 'blii 'san t-sròu ard Mur àite taimL. a fantuinn ann Thu fhein 's na feidh a riiith 's a' leum Gu'n tigheadh feam na gaillinn ort 'S cha'n iaiTadh tu mar stàbuU Acli àiridh. a Chamaire.
Bii tu mil stend blia dlùthmhor rèidh Bu ghrijiii do cheiim gu trotadh. learn Le sparraig airgid fo do chai'bard Us tu gu meanamacli togarracb Strian math dliùbailt 'g a do stiùireadh H-uile tùbh bu toileach learn S e lionmhioireaclid do lùtb-chleasan Dli' fkag m'ionndrain cbo dombain ort.
Cba b'fhear fann bkiodh air drocb ceann
A gblacadb tu 'n uair thigeadh ort
Na dhianamh breacbd air calp an t-srap
Ub tu gu sivibhlacb beadarrack
A ruitk na ruaig le neart do luatkas
Cur ckuige cruaidh gu greasad ort
Mar fkiadk a' ruitk tromk gkleann a'
teick O skranndraick nam peilearan.
Cha deackaidk biot air, siol' no fian S cka deackaidk strian no biorack air A ruitkeadk riut us tu fo d' dkiollaid 'S t' fkalbk mar fkiadk nam firickean Gur tu nack fkeumadk slackdan ckabk-
aick A bki cur pian le giorraig ort Ack spuir mu skàil na bòtan-a B'e sin an dòigk gu ruitk tkoir ort.
IX. S aiff La Fheill Mhicheil* cha bu chli thu Nur bhiodh stri mu'n choiseach ann Slcamliuinn sliobach air do cbireadh. S eich na sgire 'n cop^adb riut Bu tu'n t-àilleagan fo'n phlàta N uair a chairt an t-srathar ort Cha do ghiùlan lìxir riamh Each u b'fbeiirr na m' ghearran-sa.
X.
Nan robh thu'n ceart iiair ann am bad S an dian'mh mo chasan grunnachadh Gad tha mi sean 's air fas cho lag Gil tugainn as gu curant thu; Ma chuala tu mo chombradh-sa Giir neònacbias buileach learn Nach goireadh tu le sianlas Bhi 'g iarraidli as do cbuideachadh.
ORAN MOLAIDH THOMAIS IC COIN- NICH BH'ANN AN LUSKINTIR. I. A Rigb ! gur mis tha fo mhulad S mi na m' shineadh fo uilinii nan stùchd Sear s a siar tha mi 'sealltuinn Dh'fhiaicinn reir 's mar a cbleacbd mi o
thiis Uain us caoirich a' tearnadh Gu macbairean Chracow 'nan grunn A Rigb! gur mis tha gu cianail Tha mo tbuigse s mo riaghailt air chall.
II. Aois us tinneas us doirbheas 'Toir iomadach tolg na mo cheann Mi mar neach ann an teasaicb Gun chus dba mo lethbhreacan ann
* St Michael, patron saint of horses ; the reference is to janies in which horses played a prominent part on that lay.
82
Mi'n seo 'n Cledt-na-dubliclia
Air mo ghlasadh fo mhuiseigf nan Gall
O'n a dh'fhalbh an duin' nasal
S an robh mais ag^us snairceas us tlacM.
S iomadh neacb tha ag ionndrain
An saoi a riaghladh gu pailt
O'n chiall e'n iiicliair a thionndnadh
S a làmh a dh'flinasgladh a glilas
Bho na stòr a blia fialaid^
Dha gach neach bbiodh gun bhiadh s iad
nan aire S nur a readbadh iad 'g a iarraidb S tu nack labbradk gu fiadhaich 'gan casg.
S tu nacb fuilingeadb an t-acras
Tigbinn sbealg air a bbaile 'n robh thù
Cha robh chridh aig a nochd'
Fhud s a dh'fhoghnadh miu-chorc agus fliir
Cha b'e peic a mhin-eòrna
N deigh a thomhais gu dòlum o ghrunnd
Chiteadli 'n laimh Mhaighstir Tomas
Ach sale chur air òrdugh s na cùirn.
S trie a chiteadh t-each dioll-ta
S e cho liiath ris an fhiadh air an traigh
S iomadh muir-lan s e ri brùchdadh
Gu brais dian as na lùban an àird
S tu g a mharcach' gu sunndach
Gus am faigheadh tu null air an t-sàl
S cha b'ann gu danarra grugach
Bhiodh tu teann'dh air dhionnsuidh an làr.
VI.
Cha robh cron ort ri leughadh
Ach nach robh thu cho geur-shuileach
teann Air do bhuachaillean chaorach Bhi g an slad feadh nan caochan s nan allt;
83
Cha robh riamh 'n càni-a-Chaoruinn Le chuid shionnach s a saobhuidhean ann A tholl jracli liuthadach sgòrnan S ctnn tliu thuijrsinn clio mor sa bha'n call.
Leam is math nach e'n eiginn Thug' ort gu na gheill tliu cho luath Ach thu faicinn na slei-n^eau Bhi cho fosgailte reidh ris aii tuath S nach robli toil agad eiri-'h Air an cuid bhi ga chreibhcadh cho cruaidh S o' nach robh rinn thu fhàgail S gu'm b'c guidh gach la dhut deagh bhuaidh
Loam is math nach do thuit thu
Gad a -auair thu droch thuisleadh ea
ghleann Gun do sheas thu fhathast do c^asan Gad bha'n rathad cho clachach s cho cam Gad a dh'fhàg thu na niilteau Feadh gach slochd agus dig a bha ann Tha thu fhathast 'sua brogan Ann sam bi thu ri d' bheò s ncx)-ar-thaing.
Saoilidh fear nach eil eolach
Nur a chi e cho boidheach s tha dreach
Eadar cladach us mòinteach
Gun taom na stòras gu pailt
Ach 'an doinionn an Fhaoillidh
S^ ioma uair ann san caochail e beachd
Nuair a chi e chuid spreidh
S ead nan sineadh gun eirigh nan aire.
Gad is gorm iad a's t-samhradh
S ceart cho dubh ann sa gheamhradh a
reir Aite lomarra fuairidh
loghnaidh fiiuch 'am bidh fuachd air na feidh
84
Cha. robli cua dhut g-a bhuannacbd
S o nach robk na biodh gruaim ort na
diieigh S o'n a fhuar thu as fuasgladh Biodh e nis aig an uachdaran fbein.
<jra' do lea,naiiins air òran
Gus an treigeadh mo chomkradh gu leir
Tbaobh t-inbb' us do cbòire
Cha robh 'n comas mo bheòil chur an
geill Ach b'e mo dhùrachd gach lò dhut Bhi cluinntinn aig each ort mar sgeul Thu bhi mealtuinn do shlàinte Agus pailteas ua d' lamhan gun eis.
Ach nan cuireadh tu feura air S iomadh fear dhianamh eirigh na d'chiiis Dh' fhalbhadh mar riut sru deònach Dhiauarah sin s an cuid chòtaicheau
dliiubh ; Nam b'e foiliidh no fòirneart Bheireadh bhuat t' àite-còmhnuidh s do
ghrunnd Bhiodh e agad seachd bliadhna 'S t'eils bharrachd nam miannaicheadh tu.
Ach gheobliainn iomadoch fianuis Eadar Ròdel riomhacb nan craobh Agus timchioU na duthcha A dh' aontaicheadh learn nach dubhairt mi An treas trian s nu bu choir dhomh Mu chhii Mhaighstir Tòmas mar b'fhiach S 6 thu .-h'fhalbh as an diithaich Dh'fhag ioniadach dùil ann an dith.
OK AN EITHIK FUEARAGUIS.
Thoir mo shoraidlii uam a Pliabbai
Dli'ionnsuidli Ann' bean An Onsa
S innis dhi gu bheil mi'n dràsda
An deifrii mo charamh ann san toll-sa.
Mo dliruini-sa reidli ri atliar
Aig' luchd sgeig- s luchd cain s luchd
cuartan •Cuid ga m' mholadh s cuid gam' cbàineadh S mor gu'm b'fliearr mo thobhairt uatha.
Dbaoine! seallaibli air a bhata
Nach ann aic tlia'n t-sàil s an t-sliasaid
Nach i db' fhaodas a dbiil dàna
Air caolas Scarai 's Driiim-na-juiasda;
Nur 'sbuidheas Fearagus 'g a stiùireadh
S a cbumas e a curs' an iar oirr"
Siùil ard' an ion us sgaineadb
Le cruaidk spairneadb nan touu fiadhaich.
S fhir a cbnir i ann an cumadb
Bheir mi'n urram dhut gii saoirsneachd!
Tormaid Saor agiis Mac Ckutbais
B'e na luidrean ri du tbaobb ead;
Dh' fhàg thu'n iiibbrach gu glan cuimir
S i nach eil an cunnart sgaoileadb
S maille ri do pheadbadli cumant
Cuiridk mi'n diiigb ort an daoracb'.
Fiilagan ns dubbain iarriiinn Ri crann ruighinn miadh na ròsaid Nnair a dbeadhadb i gu b-astar Tigbinn a macb gii fulang seòlaidb Fearagus s a dba bbonu an taclulsa S e 'g cumail as mar b' cbòir dlia S tbeid i 'snaoisean gu poll Phabbai Far nacb cum a cblacb le ròp i.
S iomadh eitliir matha dianta
'N taobli an iar a Bheinn a Chaoilais
Eadar sin s am port am Bearnarai
S gu'n tugf thu'm bàrra air gach aon diubh
Nnr chitear air a cliuan i
Cha'n ann ruadh a bliios a li-aodach
Geal mar churrachd air bean-bainnse
Brataicliean ri crann s iad sg-aoilte.
S Aongliuis agris Iain Oige Na tig-ibh le ur bòsd ni's faide Le ur n-eithrichean gu scoladh S an cuid slieol an deigli am paitseadli Braoileagan nacli cimiadli suas ead Nur a thigeadh cruas nam frasan Ch/eart cho grod ri ins sliacain Bhiodh aig Uine an ceann a chlachain.
S ged bhiodli tu agam an ceart uair Cha deighinn a Haisgeir gu cleir leat Le buidheaun chrubagan us dliallag O's siad anabus gach creutair S ann a theid mi leat a Scalpai Dh' iasfracli s sgadan le clieile Mi fhin us buachaille Pliabbai Duine taioaidk s bu mhatli fheum ann.
S Fhearaguis ghlais na fiasaig fada
Kan cas cama s nan glùi luatha
Cha Fig thu leas a bhi ri fanoid
Cha deigliirm a bharraclid mu thuath leat
S mor gu'm b' anusa bhi sau aonach
Feadli nam fraochan s ami sa chruadhlach
G altrum uan s a,' tional cbaorach
S greis air mo thaobh a' diananih dhuanag.
87 ORAN DO'N BHRACSI.
Marblipliaisg ort a Elixacsi Gur h-o 'n galar a tlia millteacli thu B'e 'ii sionnacli ain luiosg threudan thu S b'e 'ni boud nack d' fliuaireadli ditli chiiir
air S ann aige blia'u drocb ceaird 'Blii cur nimh. air bliarr nau ditlieiuean S mur sgur thu dha d' dhroch ghuiam-
harau Gu fiach mi treis dhe'n phriòsan dhut.
S CO chualas riamh thug fabhachd dhut Le baighealachd no truacautachd Bha sgathadh bhuainn an fhailich Ghumadh blàth bho sgal an fhuachd sinn. Thoir seachad dhomh-s ua h-urrachau S cha'n urrainn mi cho cruaidh cur riut S mar to'ir gheobh thu sumanag Mar ruiginn ann. Port Uaine Icat.
Tha moran na do dhiithaich
Bhiodh ag ùrnuigh mi thighinn teann on-a
S leis am b' fhad an ùine fjus
An tigheadh dii'lachd geamhi-aidh orr'
Mi nochdadh anns sua na ciiiltean
Agus claidheamh ruisgt a' m' laimh agam
G a leigeadh mar a dh'iarradh iàd
Ga riarachadh an ganntar dhaibh.
Gur h-e clann Choiun' Ic lomhair
Thug le'm briathi-achas dha'n ionnsuidh mi
Ag innse a chunntais chiadan
Bha fo 'riaghladhi s riun sinn cumhnanta
Nan tighinn ann 'n am fhabhar
Annsa cheardaich nach biodh cùram
S gu'n lorgadh iadsan carna dhomh
Annsa cMiff cho blcàth ri ciilaisde.
Arsa Fearagns Mac Iain Bhàin
Tha gnàthaicht an ceann Dùlavaig
E fein s an gaodhar ban aige
Gur trie bha blàth mo sliùigh-s' orra
S na bi tighinn na's faidc leis
Na labliairt ma do chuiltcireachd
Gm- trie bha coin us ciòbairean
Gil cinnteach an deagh dhùrachd dhomli.
VI.
CliTiala mi le eachdtraidh
Gu'm bacaiste le òran thu
S nacli tigheadh tu na b' fhaide na
Blii 'g aithris air do rògaircachd
S blieir mis' ort ma ni Gàidhlig e
Gu'n eluinntear pàirt dlie d' sbeultaicliean
S nach faisear thu gu bràcha "
Tighinn air àiridhean m' àite còmhnuidhsa
AN DAEA ORAN DO'N BHRACSI.
A chiòbair ghlais a th'anu am Pabbai
Bheir mi fathast eubhach ort
Gad nach fhiacb thu'n diugh mo bhlas
Ach ainneamh nuair is eiginn dut
Gur trie a ehunncas mi mu t' amhaich
A tighinn a bteach Loch Eideal leam
'Och mo dhruim gur e tlia goirt
Gan toirt thromh ghnb Ehii Rheiminis'
S trie a thug mi dhut do leòir
Nam fòghnadh feòil us cnàmhan
Cha dianamh sin a chùis gun chlòimh
A cumadh eòmhdach blàth umad
Gur liònmhor aite 'bheil do ehòmhnuidh
Feadh na fròig s na fàsaichean
S bu trom thu'n Isibost mu thuath
S bidh Seumas Ruadh ag aireamli sin.
III.
Cha'n eil meirleach fodli na glirein 'Mioscf spreidh a tha cho siùbhlach riiit Cha'n eil àite 'u toobli-s' do'n chaol Bheil otliaisg' mliaol nacli strùilicli tliii Nur tliaineadh tu a Pliabbai fein Na'ni dheig-h giir bea^ blia dliùil again Gn faidnn sealladh dliiot gu bràch Blio chain mi thu gu d' chùlagan.
S lionmhor neach a tha dhe'n t-sluagh
Their giir buannachd dha mo sheorsas thu
Gii'm bi sùil lis ceann us cluas
Us claigionn crnaidh an ordugh ann
Ceithir luirgnean fada lorn
Cha'n fhiacha ead bonn grota dhut
S mar tha'm mionach s beag a luach
Mur tilg mi bhuam dha'n òtraich e.
S an t-eilean eile tha 'n am nàbachd
Thug a mheirleach spiiill orra
'G am muxt gun fhios dhaibh ann an Sgarai
S Donnachadh Ban gloidh dhium'ach dhiot
Ach nur a thuig iad mar a bhà
Chaidh Spainneach Ian do dh'fhùdair innt
A chur gun fhios dhut fo na ghàradh
S thàir thu snàmh g am ionnsuidh-sa.
VI.
Ach s neònach learn mar fhuair thu nail S a gheamhradh troimh ^n chuan ùdlaidh seo S gur gann a thigeadh eoin nan speur Tro'mh 'n bheisd 'nuair bhitheas i 'bùiread-
aich Ach 's e'm Baillidh a thug duals Do dh' Aonghus Euadh us ionnsach' dhut Far an tigeadh tu air tir S an cunnta sios san Uig grais riut.
90
Ach. seana Blilàireag' us Macridsean
Ditliis tha gle chòirrdte rium
Ian EuacUi us Murchadla Balitidh
'S trice db'ith iad spòlta dliiom
S iad nacb cluinnistinu ri cùl-cliain
Air mo chill s clia b' choir dhaibh siud
Cha'u ionnan sin s am fear tha'ii diumbadli
Le drochd mi-run ri òrau dhomJi.
"An Drug" s a h-inghean ann am Borbh A cumail lorg do ghnàtli orm Ma gheobh iad te dhiubh ris a ghrein Gur h-eiginn breith gnn dàil oirre Bheir iad a chreidsinii air Mac Rath Gu'n tug am Bracsi taire dhitb S e thug oirnne toirt a steach Sinn 'bhi airson a sàbhaladh.
Ach labhraidh. Ian leis a gL.ob
Mo mhollachd agaibh nair'ch sibh mi
Cha'n e'm Braosi th' oirre so
Se mult' a bha s a phàirc th' aun
Ach their an t-seann te eisd a choin,
Nach seall thu corp an aird' oirre
Nach) greas thu ort thoir dhomli a chore
S gu'n stob mi san tiibh chearr aic i!
S cha luaithe chur thu cas air tràigh Na thug thu'n aird feadh Lingai ort A dròbhaireachd a chuid a b' fheàrr S gu'n tàireadh tusa cis thoirt diubh. Nur a chaidh mi'm mach a maireach Thuig mi, "mhearirlich, t-innleachdan Nur fhuair mi iad 'nan sineadh marbh Le creuchdan garbh bho d' ingnean-sa.
91
Acli s ionirantacli mar bba do glmiomli
S am miann a bli'air an t-seòrs's agad
S iiach faca mis thii la riamh
'Cur uiread s bial air feòil gin dhiubh
Ach 'g am fhgail air an t-sliabli
Aig biataich dianamh ròic orra
S 'g an seideadh cho dubh fo'n bliian
Ei pios du riasg ua mòinticb ud.
Mo mhollachd ort bi falbli gu luatb.
Thoir an toobh tuath na Beàrnara ort
Cha'n fhada gus an toir thu nam
Na h-uile cluas a thainig thu
Cha dian murran s clia dian fraocli
An saoradh as do lamhan-sa
S ged a chuirinn iad dha'n fhaing
Tlieid thu troimh thuill a ghàraidh thuc.
S ioma fear a dheth do sheòr-sa
A bhitheas le spòrs 'g am chàineadh-sa
Ni cuirm mhilis dhiom aig bord
S bidh mi na m' chlòimh s na m' shnàth
Nur thig iad am fianuis dhaoine aca
Caochlaidh iad an raidh sin
S cho luath s a thionndaidhs iad an cùlaobh.
Bidh iadsan rium-s' a' gaireachdaich.
S ioma ciobair fada glas
Le chuaille bat us cù aige
Mas fhiach an creidsinn leis an sgreami.
A labhrar airson diumbaidh rium
Nam fanainn bhoiatha bmleach glan
Gun tighinn 'n am faisg' a dh'ionndran-
eadh mi Cus na's mo na 'n tombaca S gun e pailt 'n an spUùcanan.
Acli gad nacli tiginnsa gu bràch
S mi dh' fhaigliinn a bliàis s mo tliiodlilacadh
Tha bracsi eil ami s cha'n e's flieàrr
Na sgedrean grannda giar agaibh
TJs mur a faigh sibli leò fàtli
Tlieid CÙ us dà-cliur fhiacal ann
A rigeadli riutha feadli nan earn
A bristeadli clinànLh. ns shliasaidean.
BANAIS IAIN MHAETAINN.
riadhachadh farsuinn gn banais Iain
Mkàrtainn Chualas s gach ait an t-iomradh aic Gu na sbaoil leam an toiseach gu'm b'ann
ann am Mànuis Bhiodh i air sgàtli nighean Dhughaill aca Bha mise 'cr am bbiodadh nach d'tkòir-
teadh mi ann Ckiir criocli air na bb'ann a cbiirsacha.i Na gookaickean H-iortack bka còrr agus
bliadku' An crockadk san riasg bka siigkanta.
II. Tka seann duine teisteil a fuireack s an
t-obb' Diiin onarack coir us biitk aige
D'an d'tkug mi mo gkealladk gu'n dian-
ainn an rann S bka fianuisean ann mu'n ckiimknanta Gu'n innsinn an fkirinn gun fkacal dke'n
bkreig
Mu dkeidkinn na feasd bka fiiigkantack Bka Dòmk'ull Munro 'na ekuidk aig a
bkòrd S a bkotul 'na dkòrn s b'e 'u diiil nack e.
93
III.
S a Dliòmh'iU Munro clia ghabh tliu rium
fearg Ged a bhidhteadh t'ainm air iomradh aim An cuimhne leat idir nur chaidli tu mach
bliuaiun S a dh' flialbli tliu le ruaig a' chuilteir-
eaclid Dh' fhalbli tliu mar leisgeul a lasadi. na
l^ioba S tharruing tliu'n tide dùbailtc. S air m' fhocal gu'in fhasa dJiomh 'n t-ubh.
tlioirt o'n cliòrr Na faighinn na d' choir s . . .
S nnr chaidh mi stigh rinn mi beannachadh
bàird Nur chunna mi'n t-àros lùchairteach Bha caochladh gach dibh' am batul leis
fhein Us lasraichean geur a strùthadh asd' Bha sithion 'na gadan a laigh' air no
miosan Us shuidh sinn aig biadh na fiù?hantachd Tighinn a nuas s piob chiiiil rompa Ach 's truagh nach robh 'm Bailli us
Galium Ic Rhuaraidh Air a cheann shuas s fear Hùisinuis.
S bha fasannan eil' ann nach fhaca mi
riamh Gu'n rahothaich mi riaghhailt iir a bh'ann Gach iosal us uasal bhi maille ri cheil Gun dad ach thoir fein g' ad ionnsuidh e Nam fair'cheadh tu fathadh bha portair ua
beòir ann Mar gu'm biodh òl a bhiiirn ac' air Air m' fliacal nach d'fhairich mi mionaid
san oidhche An comunn gun fhoill nan liith-chloasan.
Ach bogf-tbeanga maoacli a' seanchais an
Euaraidh Ghoid i clio luath an ùine bhuainn Br'idhinn mu chreagan niu uibhean s mu
eòin S an doigli air am frict' air an t-sùlaire Bhitheadh lomhaiun a ruithe air cliipean
gu li-ard TJs fear air a bàrr s na sttic-clireagan Bbitbeadh. ionghannan a cbas agus meoir-
ean a lanili Us fhiaclan an sàs 'nan triùir aige.
VII.
Acb seallaibb a macli ach am faic sibh an
còmhlan Bainnis Iain Oig tlia diiil agara rithe Eiric mu nighean le boiueid s le sròl S bu toileacliadh dhomhs' an t-siiil a bli' aic Nacli seall sibh a mach ach am faic sibh
na h-uaislean Tha'n tigh seo ro chumhang 's onn ormsa
tha'ii naire 'Thormaid a ghraidh dian rùmail e.
VIII.
S nur chriiinn'cheadh a chnideachd s nur
chaidh iad a siòs Bha'n t-Hiortacb gu briathrach s struis
aisde E,i oghaidh an teallaich a ròsdadh nan ian S lamhan cho mia ri buidsear aic ,S an còrr uair a chuireadh i 'corrag s a
ghravy Dh'fhiacbadh i fhein robh siigh innte sin Gu leigeadh i'n eigh ri Nighean Ac Eaill Sin thugam an spaiu s gu'u drùill mi seo.
95 ORAN A BHIAST DUIBH.
OEAN AN DOBHEAIN.
Air fonn Cuacli MWc lUe Andrais.
Smis' a srliabh an t-eagal S cha bu blieag na gliabh mi 'chùrani Niir chaidh mi air an fheasgair ud A chleasaclid do'u tisrh-smiuiridh Bha niiasa air bhiintàt' a?am Mar b'abhaist dhomh ^a 'gùilan Gus an damli bh'aig ISiall a blii 'G a bbiadliadh leis na riif^an.
Gun sheas an damh san bhnil; thog A chluasan s rinn e srnùsad S gun thoisicliear ri sfèmlich s e Na bheisd a tigliinn g am ionnsuidli Gun fhios a'm de bu ssfiala da Leis an sgian a blia 'na shùilean S gu'n cluinneadli tu e 'raiiiich ann Am Bearnarai s;us n' thiich air.
S nur sheall mi air mo orhualainn
An tiibh shuas dhiom fo'n stòl-smiuiridli
Bha fiadh-bheothach ag gluasad
Ann sa chùaich us e ri tionndadh
A shùilean an deigh lasadh us
Droch ghart air a tighinn dlù dhomh
S nur thug mi leum "u teicheadh as
Bhuail mo leth-cheann air an ùrlar.
Nur dh' eirich sinn 's a mhaduiun chaidh
An te a b'fhaide fiasaig
A shealltuinn dha an amharus
Ma'n d'aithris mi na briagan
S rnir dhi'fhosgail i an dorus fhuair I sealladh a bha cianail Am beathach grannda lacliduna S e clio fada ri slat iasgaich.
V.
N sin thuirt am fear bu chalma
Mas beathach talmJiaidh Crioaduil e
Eis an teid mise dh' argnmaid
Gum arm acli mil dheicli miairean
Ma glieobb mi greim a'm' lamban air
Clia gheàrr e leum gu siorruidk
S ma chluinnear ann san l^srutli e
Gheobh mi'n t-urram tha mi 'g iarraidh.
OKAN AN EODAIN.
I.
Innsidh. mi sgial na rodain
A thainig a botbag Ruari
Fhuair ead aileadh na miue
S ann b' mliò chruinnich iad mu'n cuairt
di Cha robb cuip a bbi'air an culaobh. Nacli dianadh a chuis gu buailteaji S uiread mo dbiiirn orra 'shodan S mo mliollachd aig an cluasan.
S dh'aitlinicbinn rodan Bho-na-Cilleig S iad bu gbile na cuid Chracow Nur a bliiodh iad gu trie gan nigh. S iad a frigheachd air na bairnich Nur a churm.' mi iad a' tighian S colas millidh air na biasdan Thug mi oidhirp air an cunntais Gu'n deach iad a null air ciadan.
97
Tliainig uisge ma mo eliùilean S thionndain mi mo chùl s mi 'g griosad S gun dad agam grus mo thearnadli Ach an seana-clui ban gun fhiaclan Dh' flialbln mi'n iiair sin as a' liiigail Air mo ghlùinean s aii" mo cliliathaicli S nur a cbithinn an core a hibadli Bii trie mo shùil air a fiaradli.
Mi toir oidhirio air dhul dhacliaigli S gun dad unnam ach am blialnm S mi air cliTÌth cho hiatli ri diiilleig Leum mo cliuisleau mar fhcar fiabhruis Gu'm bii diombacb mi du Euaraidh O'n la chnir e'n suas an stor dlmibli 'Dhol a dh'fhàgail min us siùcair An àite gun fiti na còmhladh.
Tharruing sid ear air astar
O'n àite bu claleaclid leo còmlinuidb
Timcbioll iothlainn Tigli-a-Cliladaicla
Far 'm bu phailte bliiodh an t-eòrna Ach. nan deanainn-sa sgriobhadh S mi gu'u iunseadh auns gach aite Far 'na thug thu'n aitreabh riomhach IMeadhon dig agus lathach.
S gad a xinn thu'm balla dianach
Tha do chliathaich 'ua ciiis nàire
Fiodh air grodadb le na siantan
Nur a thuit an sgliat gu lar dhi
Seo an t-àite nach robh feiunarack
Air an spreidh ad a thighinn pailt ann
Bha gu leòir ann as an aonuis ,
Dh' fhair'lich air daoine cur as doibh.
VII. Mur biodh 'cata glas 'g an sealg dliuinn Moch us anamoclii s meadhon la Bheireadh iad asaibh na sùilean Nan tuiteadh orr' dùsail cadail S clia dian mis' guidlie glieur no sgaiteach Dha'n fhear a tharruing sibli dlù dhomh Acli am fear is mo am fiaclan Blii leireadb do bhian s tu ruisgte.
VIII.
S greim a bhidh aig aim an ait' ort Eadar thu ns la 'roimh d' clitilthaobli Gur mis' a dhiaiiamh an gaire Nam bitliiim slàn ris an iumradli.
S lean cnid eile dlia na Baigh tlin
Gu'n d'raineadh tu bat an Uamliais
S nur a rannsaicb iad s gacli ait i
S nach d'fhuair iad call gliabli 'd tuaileasg
S cbum iad sios ris a cbladaich
Cho na stad ead sa chaol gliruamach
S chaidh an oeann tlioirt feadh' na li-airde
Gu na cbur e fàilt air Ruaraidh.
MARBHRANN DO DH' IAIN GOBHA.
Rinn an teachdaire tigbinn Fbuair tliu Hos gur be 'bli'ann, Bba do lòcbran laiste Gun del as as a 'glileann, Ga do tbreòireachadli dhacbaigh Troimli na slocbdaai a bb'ann S nur a ràineadb tu'n dorus Fbuair tbu fosgladb air ball.
II. Bbana-chleasaiche bbriagacb Atbog a sgial ort nach b'fbiù Leis am b' àill thusa cbàradh Miosg nan traillean sa cbùil;
99
Gun tiìj breith oirr' o'u Ard-Righ A bheir bàrr air a cliù S a chuid dhetli Ihatliast iiach d'tlu'iini Clii each e le'ii siiil.
Chi thu'n Goblia a'd' fhianuis Mar tha'n ghrian anu sna neoil Leis an deiso cho sgiamhach S tba e diaiat' ann an glòir; Cbluinn thu'n t-Athair ag iarraidli Laogh biadht thnir na 'choir Gus a mharbhadh gu biadh dha Thoir bainne s hon dha ri òl.
O ! 'sin a fhreagras ise Le guth briste na 'beul ; Am faigh mi mathanas idir Ga do dh' innis mi 'bhreug. S a liùthad tè mar bha mise Naoh do ruitheadh cho dian A fhuair matlianas peacaidh S i toirt ridmheil ua '"■niomh.
Ach eirigh Britheamh a cheartais —
Agus las E 'na ghnuis —
"Chaidh an t-ani sin ort seachad,
Na bi labhairt na's mù;
Fhuair na maoir bhuam an t-òrdugh>
Airson an còrachan dlìi;
Togaibh libh Raon Ac Leòid
A dh' ionnsiiidh bròn bho mo shùil."
Mur ti-- la ort nach d'thàinig
Dol a' làthair Mhic Dhe
Crithidh t' fheòil s bidh do chiuimhan
An innis sgainidh o chèil
Nur a chluinn's tu e' g radhtinn —
"An tusa phlàigh ! a cheart te
Thug do m' dhearbh leanabh grasmhor
Greis do thamailt s do bhreig? "
100
S tbeid an t-sloclid ort a dliuiiaclli S clia dùil ri tighiiin as Ach air do tliilgeadli gn siorriiidli Miosg dbiabWan am feasd, Meadhon lasraichean siorruidli S mallachd Dhia air do mliuin Sam bi tliu cag;nadli do dhiolam Ag gul s ag giosgan gim sgiir.
Dill' fhalbli mais an tigli-leughaidli Bbo'n chaidh do chre-sa fo'n ùir; Nuair a dli'fhosgladli tn 'ni Biobull S tu nacli dibreadh luclid-tnù; Bha uchd-eididh na Fhinn' Mar sgiath-dhidein nad sbiùil Ga do dhian bbo do naimbdean S iad nan camp air do tbùbb.
Tbog tbu'n steigb gu daingean Air a cbarraig nacb gluais Gad tba bàrcadb nan tuiltean G iatbadb nmad mu'n cuairt; Bba do cbreidimb sa ladair An agbaidb gabbaidbean cruaidb Tbaobb b'e Criosda 'cblacb-oisinn Air na tbog tbu cbo luatb.
S bba tbu 'd' ligbicbe fenmail
Air feadb do re ns do cbuairt
Do cbuirp s do anaman cbreutair
A rinneadb rn reubadb s iad truagb;
Bba tbu iriosal baigbeil
Coineil cairdeil ri skiagb
S mor bba gblòir an Fbir Sbaoraidh
Ann an aogaisg do sbnuagb.
ini CLIU IAIN GHOBHA.
Bho 'n is fear-fogliluim mi air a cheaird-sa Luchd brithimh Gaidhlig na tugaibh beum Air cainnt mhi-fhiughmhor neo-dhireach
lùbte Nach gabh dliomh dliithadh no cur na
cheil : Cha b' e cion diira^lid a thigeadli rium-sa N am seinn a chliù-san nam biodh air eis Ach inntinn nadmhorrach us easbhuidh
grais oirr Gu 'n teid i cearr ann an cliiith nan teud.
II. S mo bliilean graineil ueo-thimchioll ghe-
àirrto Gu faic sibh dana dhomh blii ri cainnt Air cliii na fianuis a dh' fhalbh o 'n fhion-
lios Bu chliùiteach gniomliacli am miosg nan
crann; Bha eagal diadhaidb as deigh a lionadh Gu 'm biodh a clirionachd n' ar miosgp
neo-ghann Bu trie e 'g ùrnuigli 'del ann an cumh,-
nant Airsou ar cùiiiiinadli* aig- catbair grais.
An ceistear cliniteach bu mlior luclid ionn-
drainn A tha mi 'g iomradli air na mo dhàn Bu lionmhor suil bha gu silteach srùlach An am do dhunadh 's a' chiste chlar; Bu lochran iiiil thu da dhuill gun suilean Bhiodh gun tiir air a ghniomh a b' fhearr A' ruith gu direach fo 'n t-slighe mhilltich A' dion nam miltean o dhiol a bhais.
IV.
S o thog tliu 'n aidmheil bu lochran laist
thu Nach ciiireadh fras as la doinionn glieur; Cho fad s a dh' fhan thu clia 'n fhacas
smal ort Aeh djoiina 1 laist ar,n an riiitli ua reis : A' dol troimh 'n fhasach gun eagal nam-
liuid Ach spionnadh gràis ga do chumail treun, S tu ruith gu buaidheach gun easbhudli
luathais ort Gu 'n d' iluiair thu 'u duais a th' aig
pobull Dhe.
V.
Bu dileas durachdacli dha do ghairm thu Cha b' ionnan s foirmealaich nan ceann ard Nach b' urrainii cainnt ach gu niabach
manntach Le raige teanga s an ceaun cho Ian: G iarraidh cus storais dha 'u inntina
fheòlmhor S i ciocrach, neo-ghlan s an taic a ghnàth Air steidheadh aotrum bhios dhaibh na
'fhaoineis Aie la an caochlaidh nur this: am bàs.
Is ann ort a b' fhiiathach luchd fein na
h-uaille Bha 'g iarraidh suas gun dhol dha na
chrò. Am miosg nan caorach le 'n eàrradh
sgaoilte S gu fainicht an gaoid air gach taobh dhe
'n cìileòc; Bu trie thu dearbhadh orr' ga bu shearbh
leo e Gu 'm biodh tearbadh ann la a mhòid; Cuid gu oighreachd sain bithcadh an
t-aoibhneas Cuid eir dha 'n ghoiuutir sam bitheadh
am bròn.
VII.
Bha tliu ainmeil s ^ach ceàrn an Alba Mar ghaisgeach calma le d' chlaidheamli
geuT Air taobh na còracli a' sgrios luchd dò-
blicairt Bu trie tlui comhrag ri luchd mi-bheus : Bhiodh fcachd na h-euceairt a' ci-ith fo d'
eisneachd, An coguis fliein s i ga 'm bioradh cruaidh Bhiodh fallus driiidhteach a' sileadh dluth
dhiot Le spairu 'to'airt cunntais dhoibh air an
Uan.
VIII.
Bha tlachd us ciatachd le aoidh na diadh-
aclid A' dearrsadh sgiamhach na d' aghaidli
chiiiin S bhiodh pcacaich gharbha bu ghairge
seanachas Le urahlachd leanabail a' tighinn dhut
dlùth; Gur tu bha eudmhor air-son an treuda, Bhiodh faire gheur agad air an cùl, Bu trie thu 'g eigheacli an cluas luchd
eisdeachd A chungaidh fheumail a dheanadh ciiis.
B' e beatha d' hraich a li-iiile Sàbaid Ehi 'g innseadh chàch gu 'n robh 'n
t-slighe reidh Gu geat an ivrois am faight' an t-slainte O 'n chraoibh 'tha fas ann le nicas nach
treig : Fo dhuilleach aghmhor gu 'm faighte
samhchar O dhoinionn craiteach s o amhghar gheur, O ruaig an namhaid bh' air-son an tàr-
suinn Le innleachd basmhor mar clircach dha
fein.
lOJ
Do 'u osna 'dliùsgadh o 'n cliridlie blirùi-
deil Air blieag-an curaim bu bheasf do speis, O cliaidli ol-ungaidh 'chur air do shùilean S nacli to^ta cliii leat air luchd mi-bheiis; O 'n bha thii eolach mil 'n t-siounach
liibach A cliuir a chiil riut fo d' armachd gheur Bha 'n garaidli uaigneach ri d' linn 'san
dutliaicli, S o 'n dli' flialbh tlui dluiisg e ri siiiiill da
fein.
Bha t'eagal diadhaidh to'airt air na mil- tea n Air feadh nan sgire gu 'n robh iad balbh. Mar an iDheiicag an gath na greine Le itean eugsamhuil nan iomadh dealbh; Oir bha thii ungte s do fhradharc dùbailt Ag gabhail dlii-bheachd air sligh an ceum S ged thigeadh ludas le 'phòig a d' ionn-
siiidh Gum b' shuarach thu air droch run a mhèinn.
Bu lionmhor bacach bha 'deigh a bhacail Le ainneart peacaidh do chum gu 'n
trsigt', A bha thu seoladh gu Loch Shiloaim A chum an comhlachadh aig an Leigh; Leis an fhirinn bu trie thu dearbhadh
dhaibh Mar grad fhalbh iad gu 'n teid iad cug, Fo phlàigh na loibhre an la na feirge S nach beireadh *tiouchds' orr' a dhian-
r.nih i'euni.
105
XIII.
An am dhut eirigh 's a choiiniimli urn-
Uiffh,
An sUia<rli a' dùmhlachadh ort mu 'n
cuairt, Bu chridhe cruaidh agiis inntinn blirùidoil Nach dianamli lùbadh le d' ghiitli san
uair: Bu ghaisgeach treun thu gn innseadk
sgeiil dhoibh Mu chliù na h-eifcachd bha 'm fuil an
Uain S air damanadh siorxuidli 'jian gobhair
fhiadhaich Air sgeiribh giara dol sios do 'n chuan.
XIV.
Thainig dorcliadas air a cboàrn seo
Le mùcbadh bàsmhor o 'n rinn tbu triall
Do tliir Emanueil am miosg do bbraith-
rean S tu 'dianamh gairdeachas ann an Dia; Chum ar tearnadh o chumhachd namhuid S o philan na h-amhuinn tha loisgeach
dian, Bheir air na h-iiamhari-aicb gu loisgear
suas iad Mar an asbhuaine nur thisr a chrioch.
Aig la do cbriochnacbaidh fhuair tliu
t-iarratus Mar bu nihiann leat taobh thall a bhais, Gach gealladh fhuair thu 'n tùbh bhos
dha 'n uaighe Chaidh dhianamh suas dhut gu daingean
slan; Gath a bhàia chaidh a dhianamh ciiiiu
dhut S an uaigh cha chum i thu ann an sàs; Gu 'n dian thu diisgadh le glaodh na
trompaid Eoimh 'n crith gach diiil a chaidh aunsan
làr.
5a
Thainiff Gabriel o iia h-àrdaibli Us àitline laidir aic air do thòir, Thubhairt riut gu 'ni b' fheàrr dliut tliu
rioghaclid àghmlior, Nacli goid na mearlaich a steacb na d'
choir; Fbuair thu 'n dileab s a cliiilaidh rioo-bail S ainm an Eigh oirr' gun smal gun sgleò, Cho buan ri siorruidhea^lid a tha neo-
chriochnach. Us t'aoibhneas siomiidli uach criocb a
gblòir.
The following piece has been current in the Lovat country from the beginning of the century. It may have been composed dur- ing the last quarter of last century. From the traditional evidence it must have been known prior to Waterloo. The author seems to have been reared in the upper reaches of the Beauly Valley. Strathfarrar, Struy, Aigas, Dounie (i.e., Beaufort), and Bruiach were favourite haunts of his childhood, the abode of his friends. It is lofty, dignified, and full of chaste restraint, with a certain feeUng familiar enough in the days of Iain Lo<m, but not so readily met with in its purity in the period succeeding the '45. The air is bold a.nd martial, each stanza being sung twice, the second time a little higher than the first. The words are not likely to have been changed; I got them from Mr Donald Maclean, a native of the valley and a neighbour. Like the Piobaire Dall and the Clarsair Dall, he has had the trying mis- fortune of being bereft of Ms eye-sight from early days owing to small-pox. From this
107
reason, rendered doubly fitting owing to great inherent natural talent, he was trained in music, so that even now, in old age, ho can play the violin, the bagpipes, and sing Gaelic sono's — a combination of qualities very rarely united in anv one man. He had the words from his mother, who in tura had them from her mother. I have not seen Mr Mac- lean for some years. He must be now about the three score and ten; he lives alone. Owing to his loss of eye-sight, his sense of touch is preternaturally heightened, as well as hÌ3 sense of hearing. In spite of occa- sional pranks that may be played upon him, he never plays after a certain hour on a Satur- day eveaiing; he spends a portion of every day in prayer. My wish is that he may live as long as his uncle, who died a few years ago, ha^ang reached the age of five score and three.'"' Guidheam dhut gu bràch thai bhiodh na d' ioma shlaint 's na dheigh sin soiias Mhic De a'd' lorg !"
Mr Maclean's voice was of great range and power, and fitted to cope with the most diffi- cult operatic airs — his repertoire being both rich and varied. I give in consecutive order some of the songs I have learned from him, with notes where such may be necessary. They are generally anonymous, like so many of our Scottish ballads; no famous name is at their head, but they have the genuine breath of the mountains, and are as healthy as the old red pine of Strathglass. Love,
Note.— The reference in the last three stanzas fits only General Simon Fraser XlX.of Lovat, who died at Downing -Street, London, Sth February, 1782, aged .56 Jle was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle, 1747 ; pardoned in 17S0 ; callfd to the Scottish bar, 1757 ; served in Canada, 17u7-17G2 ; MP. for Inverness-shire, 1761-1782; estates restored, 1774. This Gaelic song was composed between 1750 and 1774 I infer from the style that it was composed by DomhuU Gobha Siosal of strathglass, <vho also com- posed a lament on the Siosalach Ban, who died circa 1793. Both are similar in manner. The Iain of the poem may be John of Knockfin. The poet was not aware of Alex. Fraser (elder brother of Simon of '4.')) or any heirs of his being alive then.
passion, and bsanty are the shades of their immortality : —
CAISMEACHD NA H-AIRDE.
Trom mo cbeum s mi air m' aineol
Ann san tir-sa dol thairis
Dhianainn faoilte ri beannan ua h-Airde.
'N am bhi direadh Strath Fhairig S mor b'annsd, Strath Farrar Far uach cunntadh ead bainne na(m)bà ruinn.
Gheobhainn iasg agus sithionn Im càis agus gi-uitheam S bhiodh mo chairdeau ga m' ghaiidheadk gu fardoich.
A Righ! pfu'm b' ùirueach mo leabaidh
Ann am biadh s ann an caidrimh
Eadar Striiidh Mhor nam bradan us Aigais,
Eadar Douni na coille Agus Brnaich an eilich S air mo lamh-sa uach ceileadh ead gràdh orm.
Mo chiou ort Iain bha stiairce
Chaoidh cha tabhair mi fuath dhut
Aig fheobhas s a fhnair mi thar chàch thu.
Beir an t-soiridh null thairis
A dh'ionns' na diithcliia ta thall ud
Far an d'fhuair mi re tamull de m'àireach.
Gu muinntir mo chridhe Far nach cluinutear am bruidhiun Nuair a dhianadh ead suidhe san teagh tharluim.
S e bu bheus dhaibh mar chleachidamh
Ag Ò1 fion dearg ann am pailteas
Greis air phioban tombaca s air manran.
109
S ead gun bliruaidlean gxin trioblaid <Jun luaidh air a bhiodag Ach a pàidlieadh na thigeadh mar bliraitli- reau.
Ach nam b' àiU le Mac SMmi Thighinn a thàmh mar ri chinneadh Air mo làmli-sa nach pillcar an drhsd e.
Thigliinn gu fhonn us gu fhearaun. Us gu oighreaclid a sheanair Mi-loinn air t>n fliear kis nacb b'aill e.
Phir thug Israel tliairis
A chruthaich grian agus gealach
Cuir an duthaich le ceannas na h-Airde.
TUIREADH.
Moch sa mliaduinn Diluan Dol a rathad seo sliuas
Fhuair mi naigheaclid a gliluais dhom bròn.
Fhuair mi sgeul nach robh binn <xu robh m' aighear s mo mhiann S e na laighe fodh dhian nam bòrd.
Ann an leine chaol fhuar
Podh dhubhar nan stuadh
Dh'fhàg siud mise ri fhuasgladh dheòir.
Ann an ciste chinn chaoil
An deigh a snaidheadh bho'n t-saor
S air a sparradh le faobhar òrd.
S iionar gruagach bha tinn A' spionadh cuailein a cinn N am do tho^all dho cill do sheòid.
Agus òigear fodh ghruaim N am rùsgadh dhut uaigh Fhir nach seachnadh an ruaig nan tòir.
110
riiir a sliiiibblas mo cuairt Beir an t-soiridh seo bhuam Dhionns' an talla 'm bi fiiaim a clieòil.
Agus innis gun bbreng Gu'm beil mise gun fheum Blio cliaidh m'aighear s mo clieill fodb'n fliòd.
Bu tu sealgair a glieoidh
S a clioilicli air gheig
Marbhach eala a^us feidh agus ròn.
Làimh tliolladh na bein Mo dhul fodha na grein Cha b'e'n ainnis bu re na d' dhoigh.
Ach uisge beatha na(m) pios
E,uma laidir us fion
Se ga chaitheamli gu fial mu d' bliòrd.
Bho nacb urra mi fein
Gun bbi cur smal air do bheus
S ann a ghablias mo bbeul gu foil.
Tbig Sir DomhnuU bho SMeibht
Le chuid oigfhearu treun
Thig Mac Cailein na dlieigh s Macleòid.
S thig MacCoinnicli a nail
Bho ua h-eileannan thall
Chluinnteadh farum na lann s na stròl.
S thig Mac Shimi bho'n Aird
Na t'ionad gun dàil
An leomhann fireachail laidir borb.
S bho nach urra mi fein Dhul na's fhaid' as do dheigh Guidheam caidreanih Mhic Dhe 'do lorg.
Ill
OEAN SUGRAIDH.
Cha d'fhuair iiii'n raoir cadal Air leabaidli s mi m'ònar Chridho! rlia hhithinn fodh mliulad Far an cluinninn do chomliradh Do bbeul binn gasda grinn Labhraa gu. fior sheolta S gu'n dianainn riut suairceas Clio uaisle sab' eòl dhomh.
Beau samhla dha m' leannan Gur h-ainneamli air feur i Gur gile s gur glain' i Na canach an t-sleiblie Corp min geal cridh gun smal S ainneamh bean t-eugaisg Tlia tbu bbuam s tu mu luaidh Craaidh orm s mi m' eigin.
Na m' eiginn a ta mi
Bho na thàir mi'n ciad iiil ort
Bhean nam bas bàna
Dh'fhàs gu nadurracli cliùiteacli
Gu la luan m'aigne buan
Bidli mo bhuan diiil riut
S bidli m'aigne gun deigL. ort
Mur faoid mi do phùsadh.
Ged a dliianamh sinn piisadk
Bu chliiiiteach ar beusan
Clia'n fhaichteadh fodh bhròn sinn
Fbud s bu bhcò sinn le clieile
Ged bhiodh. sàradh gun dail
Aig a bhàs fhein oirnn
Bu gbann da mu leonadh
S do pbòg gun bbi reidb dhomh.
Do phòg a bhi reidh dhomh A gheug bho'n ait mànran Dha'm beil a chaol mhala S am broilleach geal braghaid
Gorm do shùil, g^lan do glinùis
Lùb a chùl àr-bhiiidh
S tu beul iiach ^luais feargf na gruaim
B elbbinn bliiiat manraii.
B'èibliinii bliuat mànran B'e m'àilghÌGS s mo clieòl e Dliut thug mi 'n cion falaicli Nach dealaich ri m' bheò rium N gaol buan thug mi bhuam Se-sa ghluais bròn dhomh S cha d'fhuair mu'n raoir cadal Air leabaidh s mi m'ònar.
Cha d'fhuair mi'n raoir cadal
Air leabaidh s mi m'ònar
Chridhe! cha bhithinn fodh mhulad
Far an cluinninn do chomhradh
Mhairi ùr nan ciabh dliith
Labhras ciùin bainndidh
S ged a shiùbhladh leam na duthcham
S neo-lionar dhut samhla.
O ghruagaich an leadain
Tha feagal ro mhòr orm
Ma theid thu do'n chaisteal
Gu strac ead s a choir thu
Theid fios gu luath chur ort suas
Ghruagach nan t-seomair
S ma thig thu fhein as gun bheud.
Tha mi gle dheonach.
Chaidh fios gus an t-seisean S gu eildeir an teampuill Gu'n d'robh mise s a nighean A bruidhinn gle ghreannor Cha'n eil fios 'nan ar dithis Co'n cridhe dh'thas feallsa Ghabh ise fear eile S tha mise na m' bhauutraich.
]i;
An sin freagraidh an nij^hean agus scinn- idhi: —
Tha sac air mo cluidhe
S cha ligb. ni chàircadh
Cha leighis an leubh e
N tig an t-cug blio'n treun Ard-Righ
Gu la Inan ni'aigne bnan
Cha dual dhomh bhi slàn dhetb.
Oig shuairc a chùil dhuanaich
Gur truagh gun bhi lamb riut.
Oig-fhear nam miog-shviil Tha sgrioban do phoig orm S nam faighinn i fos n-iosal Righ b'eibhinn leara beò thu Gu'm b'annsa do bhriodal Na ceòl theudan us organ S gu'm b'annsa do sluigradh Na'm pùsadh tha'n lorg orm.
MO CHEUINNEAG DHONN.
Och mar tha mi s mo chridhe trom 'S mi aim sau aite nach tog mi fonn Tha m'inntinn craiteach ag caoidh nan
cairdean Ach s bochd a dh'fhag mi mo chruinncag
dhonn.
Ni mi gàir agus ni mi gean
Saoilidh each gu bi mi mear
Ach nuair a thionndanas mi mo chiilaobh
Bidh mo shùilean a siora ghal.
Mar chanach sleibh thu nach dual bhi
dubh Mar chobhar gle-gheal am bial an t-sruth. Mar shueachd air gheugan thig bho na
speuran Tha broilleach m'eudail cho geal s an
gruth.
Gu clè an t-àite no dè an taobli
A chuireadh t' aogasg dhomh air chùl Tha mais a'd' ghruaidhean a rinn mo
bhuaireadh S gacli ball mu'n cuairt dut 'toirt buaidh
fa leth
S deimJi an t-àit' 'ni biodh mo gliradh
an cleitk Nach gleidhinn fàth air a dhul a steagh Shiùbblainn fàsaich', stuchd nan àrd-
bbeann Chionns' gu'm fàilticlieadk tù mo tlieagk
Bba m'ulaidh s m'eudail air t'aoduinn
ghlas S ann air do phògan a gbeobbainn bias S mor gu b'annsa bhi riut a' sùgradh Na bhi piisd aig an larla Ross.
Ach nam bithinnsa na mo shaor Dkianàinn long leis a falbhadh gaotb Chuirinn siiiil rithe ged b'ann de m' ghùn
ead Bratacli iir dheth mo leine caol.
Tha triùir ghàirnealan ann san lios S tha ead an dòchas gu faigh ead mis S ged tha ead gòrach air beagan stòras Le briodal beòil gu na mheall ead mis'
S ioma te chuir mo leine 'm burn Us bana-ghriidair a rinu dom' leann Agus griasaich a rinn dom' brògan Bho'n thuair mi'n cota seo n toiseach riamh,
S ioma biith ann sa beil mo sgian Agus bòrd air a beil mo nihias Agus bòsd o na ghabh mi snaoisean S lionar aoduinn a labliair rium.
115
R eol dom fhin rint nacli eol do 'm arm
S eol dom coilltean us craga« garbh
S eol dom Sgùrruan tha 'm bun nan sru-
than S am badan dlùtb ann sa Choille Gharbh*.
OEAN
Le Mr Siosal coir chaocbail auu am Beala- drum, air do'ii tritlu-a:nli niae ttiia falbh do na cogaidhean a dh'eirich ri linn Bonipart. Ilugadb ann sa Cbreidh e, os cionn Eisciadeil, Leòr-na-Manach.
Fior thoisich an t-Samhraidb Bhuail meall mi bba geur Db'fbàg nnil.uhiph mi'.U mi San am am biodb m'fbeum Cha b'e deireadb an Earraicb Gad a cbailinn a spreidk Dk'fhag mise fodh smalan Ach. carraid an Kiogb.
Ocb ocban s mi m' aonar S mi faoin gun mo cblann Lucbd a dbianamb mo sbaotbair S a sbaoradb mo cbrann Cba bu gbearan leam dithis Gad a bbiodb ead tball Acb se rainig mii cbridbe Cbaidb an' tritbcamb fear ann.
TJg na db' fbalbb bbuaiun an toisich
Is e bb'ac' an toil fbeiu
Cba d'fbàg ead na"u deigb
Na cboisneadb dhaibb beum
Acb "s e db'lalbb libuainu an gobbainn
Fear fogbainteacb treim
S ged bu cbosnacb gasd e
Cbuir crois e bbo fbeum.
* In Glen Affiic.
116
B'fhear gasd thii gu saotliair Nath do smaoinich mi riamli Cha rachadh tu'n taobli ad Nam maireadh do chiall Gu'n a mlieall thu mi m'blialair S guv oil learn gur fhior Chuir siud mise gu carraid Nack lamh mi chur dhiom.
Bha cuid air a bhalair Gu'm b'fharasd domli dliiaut Nan p-abliadli e comhairl Bba'n gnothuicli ad diant Gu faigbinn-sa diiine Agiis luillidh cbiir sios Es 'db'fbuireacb aig a bhaile 'Toirt an aire air a ghniomh.
Ach bbòidich e dhuinne
Nach fban'dh e san tir
Nach biodh e fodh sgaunal
S nach fhuilingeadh e beum
Gu'n gabbadh e chuunart
Dhcth na qhiinna £ c'bei:b 'glileus
S gu'n coisneadh e'n t-aran
Cko fad s a mbaircadh dha fbein.
Och ocb mar tha mise S beag tha dh'fhios sin aig each Tha mo chridh air a dbocbunn S mi ag osnaich gach la Ghar an diù learn bhi 'g iuuse Mu mil mhi-ghean do chàch Gu'm bcil mulad air m' iuutinn Ka dh' fbag' gu tinn duine slan.
Tha mo chiabhag air glasag S mi lag leis an aois Bho na dh'fhalbh mo chul-taice S mi ga m' fhaicinn ro fbaoin Ach nan tigeadh na gilleau Mar sbiriun bho'n Eiogh Gun mhasladh do m' chinneadli Bhiodh gean orm a chaoidh.
117
Ach dh'fhaodadli siud tachairt Na inairiiins' ri thn 6u faicinns' sibli fhathast Na 'n iir laiglie ann san tir Nuair a's aird oirnn an aisith S ann is fliaisg oirnn an t-sitli S bidh mo dliiiil-sa ri 'r faiciun Mur taisgear mi fliin.
OEAN
a rinueadh, a reir mar tlia e air aitkris, le botular a bha aig Mac-an-Tòisich. Bba cion- falaich aig an t-seirbliiseach seo agus aig nigliean a mhaighstir air a cheile agus, ma's fior, rinneadh an t-amhran seo leis a bhotu- lar mas deacliaidh a pheanasacliadh an lornis.
Thig an samliradli s a futhar Thig a cbuthag a Eirinn Thig gach ian a bharraicli S ead an tacbda ri cheile 'Dhianadh ciùil dhiiinn air chrannu Us air bharru nan geugan Ach 's ann tha mise s mo leannan Sior teannadh bho cheile,
S mairg nach imrich an copan Sùmhail socrach s e dearr-lan Sid a riut nach d' riim mise S ann a bhris mi fein beam as Aig ro-mhiad na h-uairgnis Rinn deth 'n ionracan mearlach Chuir sid mise gu saothair S tha e daor dha mo chairdean.
O ! ghruagaich an leadain S mi gu frcagradh t' ordugh Ann an glaice nan creagan S ann am preasu beag bòidheach
118
Aig ro mliiad s thug mi g-liaol dut Gun do dhaoine bhi deoiiacli S mi gu laioheadh ri d'thaobba An gleannan caomh nan lax)gli oga.
Fhir a gbabhas a rathad
Ghabbas a rathad gu siobhailt
Le faoilt agus furan
Cum do bhunaid fos n-iosal
Aig ro mhiad do churam
Dian iimhlachd dha'n ribhinn
S gu'm bi mise 'n trom ghrhdh s tu
C'e b'e ait' ann sam bidh thu.
Cha tcid mi do'n chaisteal Cha bhagair na b' abhaist Bidh piob ann bidh fiodhull Bidh trompaid bidh clàrsaich Ciod an ceol tha fodh 'n adhaj- Nach bidh feitheamh mo ghradh-sa S truagh a Righ I s gun bhi mar riut Gheug nam meal-shuilean tlixtha.
Tha mo mhaiglistir priseil
Fodh mhi-ghean s fodh ghruaim rium
Cha teid mi na choinneamh
A chur rutha na ghruaidhean
Cha teid mi na choinneamh
Cha chuir rutha na ghruaidhean
S ann a dh'iarr e le graide
Mo ghrad spadadh le luaithe.
S mairg nach sealladh riamh
Air na mnathan <?a bòidheach
Mas gabhadli e shrachdadh
Cur seachad air posadh
Chor tha bhuaidh ad air fad orr'
Bhi gu sochaireach gòrach
S e gheobh mise mar thochradh
A chroich ar deagh m'fhogradh.
S truagh a Righ! nach b'e 'm bas e Air na trathu gun fhuireach Mas fhacar bean t'eugaisg Nach fhaodar a phosadh
119
Troidh cbruiiin am brosf chumhang' Dham bo cbiibha bhi spòrsail Fodh do cbalpannan min-ghcal Troidh nach illsich am feòirnein.
Uilleam Og Aberardcr
Cha tu bàillidh na cùrach
Nuair a dhiarr thu mu spealtadh
Fodh gheaird Ic-an-Tòisich
S a dhiil timchioU a chabhsati
Giio mu chairdean bhi m' chomhdhail
S mòr gti'm b'annsa na fagail
Na bhi la air a mhòd sin.
ORAX SUGEATDH.
A love soug of the days of one of the Georges. The musical accent shows the air to be old. In similar cases Burns, to suit Celtic airs, had to use ati end-0 for met- rical and musical consonauce.
S gur mise ta na m' eiginn
Gad 's fheudar dhom' dhcth fhulaohdainn
Nach urrainn mi dhelh Icitbhadh
Mo chreuchdan s mo dhuilli-hinn
Cha ni cha'n or s cha'n airgiod
Chuir san dearmad biiilca'h mi
Ach caileag laghach bhòidheach
A dh'fhàg fodh bhrou s fodh mhulad mi.
Tha cùl do);n diialach Na chuachagan gle cliannach ort Do dha shùil ghorma bhoidheach Da ghruaidh mar ròs ri balla-geai Tha beulan tana siobhalt Labhras min gle channach rium Gu'm b'annsa bhi ga d' phògadh Na bualadh bhò-le-cailibho.
120
S pfur mòr a tliugf mi speis dliut Clia tlireiginn airson earras e Clia'n fliaca mi bean t'eiig'aiag Air feille na air ballachan. Dì-dòmlinuich dul do'n t-searmaid S ainmic te bheir barrachd ort An gilead us am bòichead S clia ghòruich bhios air t'aire-sa.
Gur matli a thig an sioda
Air ciochan mine bhoirionnaich
Clia mhiosa tliig an cotan
N òrdug-li gliar an go-foin dha.
Tliig gùintean stuth dlia'n ribliina
Clio math s thig siod dii dliiomadli ^
S cha'n fhaca mi bean t'eugaisg
S an t-saoghal fhiid 3 a dh'imicli mi.
S na faighinn bho'n stòl pliòsd thu
Gu cuirinn seòl air aran dut
Fhead s leanadh mo dha dhòrn rium
Gu'n gleidhinn Ion gun ghainne dhut.
Didùmhnuich dul do'n t-searmoid
Cho stoirmeil ri bean baili U !
Aig am bidh'n crodh air ailean
S na làraichean breith shearrach dhaibb
S a nis mu chuir thu d' chvil rium
Gun dùil agam ri d' bhuineachduinji
Tliig frasan air mo shùilean
Thig tùchan us trom mhulad orm.
Mas fheàrr leat fear le airgiod
Gu'n chain mi m'earbsa buileach dhioi
Ciad soraidh slan a'd' dheigh-sa
Tha'n fheill cho reidh dha'n chuile fear.
S gad tha mi gann dii stòras
Bhoan lion an stop le drama dhuinn
Tha airgiod aig Eiogh Seòras
S e deònach chur mii rathad-sa
Aithrisidh mi'n t'òran
Glè dheònach dha na caileagan
S an te nach gabh me 'm bliadhna.
Gu dearbh cha'n iarr mi'n ath-bhliadhn' 1.
I
121 FEILL LEOE-NA-MANACH.
Bha mi feasgar anaraoch
S a Mhanachainn air feill
Chunna mi'n t-Art meanamach
S e seanaclias ri te
Bha mise air an cùlaobh
To'airt aire mhath dha'n t-aùgradk
Bha fabhur as a bhùth anu
A lùbte fodh speth
S lionar flcasgach bòidheach
Us òigh air an fheill
Gadheadh cha'n 'eil <jn leòir ann
Chum solas dom fhein
Dur raineadh mi'n tai^h òsda
Bha farum mòr air ceijl ann
Gu'n d'aithnich mi Iain Sheorais
A sgròbadh nan tend
Bu chridheach aig an danns ead
Na bh'ann deth gach seòrs
Bu chridheach ead le sùgr&dh
Tionndainn mu'n bhòrd
Bu dealasach us faobhurr'
S fallus air an aoduinn
Gun or a bhi ach faoin daibh
N am chaoincadh nam bròg.
Gu'n tug sid osann ciùrrt orm
Dur dh'ionndrainn mi bhuam
Nach fhaca mi mii ghaol
Am miosg na bh'ann a shluagh
Nach fhaca mi mo ghaol
Am miosg na bh'ann a dhaoine
Beul seanraich an fhuilt chraobhaick
Mar chaoruinn do ghruaidh.
S dur rainig ceann an la ead
S dur thòisich a phiob
Gu daoine chur an òrdugh
Gu seòl chur air sith
Bha Gilbeart an Diùc ann
Na chaiptean air an tiibh-sa
TTa Archie air an tùbh ad
Lan muirn agus beuB.
S dur rainig ceann an la ead
122
S a sp:aoil ead gii leir
Thainig fear le faobliur
S mi 'g aoileas loam fein
Dh'fharraid e nam b'aill learn
Dhul tliairis g-u'n robh 'n tràtli ann
S thubhairt mise ris gu'ra b'aill
Mu bha bàta dhora reidh
"Clia'n 'eil mi math air òran
S cha'n òig-headar mi
Bho nach d'fhuair mi coir
Air an òigear dhoni fhin
S ann bheir mi tliairis m'òran
D'an fhear a ni na brosjan
S ann dh'fhàsr mi san taigh òsd ead
Ag 61 a ann air fion.
S coltacli ri rasg caiman
Palblian do shùil
S i gu corracli colgant
Cho gorm ris an driuchd
Do blieul tha màthair sìobhalt
S do bheachd mar mheachair mhin-gkeal
S do tlieangaidh clia to'air mi-chliu
S i binn gu na chiiiil.
COMHLUADAR SUGRAIDH.
Bhean an teagb na biodb spreig ort
Their am botnl a nuas
Dh' nisge beatha math fearail
Air a tharruing da uair
Deoch slàinte mo chaileag
Si bu mhath leam bhi luaidh
Gu'n òlaiun i thairis
Gu barrach na cuaich.
Bheiti dhonn bhòidheach! 'Fait an ordugh an cir, Dul ua chlachau Di-dòmhnaicli Go's bòidhche ua i?
Ì-2A
Nuair shuidhinns' mti' coinneamh N am chromadh a cinn Cha bhi cuimlin' air a jDlicarsain Fodh do rasg-sliuilean iiiiu.
Mis' air mo bhuaireadh
Sgeula chuala mi'n de
Gu'n d'rinu fear eile do bhuaireadh
Airson buaile do spreldh
Gur h-e s fhearr le do chairdean
S nacli e's taire leat flieiu
S gar a b'fhearr e na'u ròcus
Gheobh fear storasach speis.
"Ach a gbaoil na toir cluais
Do dh' aon tuaileasg fodh 'n ghrein
Chaoidh cha tobhair mi fuath dhut
Airson buaile do spreidh
Threiginn m' athair s mo mhàthair
S mo chairdean gu leir
S chuirinn ciil ri fear airgid
S leanainn sealgair an fheidh."
Mas e luigean a's fhearr leibh A chàramh oirr' bhreid Dur bhios e-s' air a chluasag Gun ghluasad gun fheum Dur bhios e-s' air a chluasag Oun ghluasad gun fheum Gu'm bi mise gu h-uallach S mi ruagadh an theidh.
A bhradag gun nàire Ars' a mathair s i leum Chuireadh cùl ri fear fàrdoich Dhianamh stà dhut us feum Aig bheil crodh agus caoirich Air gach taobh dha ua bheinn S a dh'fhalbhag air fuadan Le fear ruagag an fheidh
S truagh nach robh mi s mii ghruagach N aite fuadain leinn feiu Gun fhios da dii chairdean Mas tigeadh càs ort na beud
124
Ann an gOTva. gfhleannan fàsaich Far na ràinig na feidh S ged a thigeadh am fuachd ort Chumainn bhuat e le bein.
ORAN AN lASGAIE.
A fisherman's song, the air and sentiment alike being' characterised by Highland viv- acity and spirit.
An cliiinn thu mi mo chailin donn Eisd us thoir an aire dhomh Tha moran dheth na bhalair sin Gur òg an leannan dòmhs thu. S gil' tlm na na faoileagan S binn' thu na na clkrsaichean Mar lilidh ann sa ghhradh thu S gur ailleagan gill' òg thu.
S an uair char sinn a dh'iasgach Cho fad s an t-eilean Sgitheanach S truagh nach robh na lin againn Gu'n sgriobadh sinn na h-òban. Tighinn a stigh à Scàniport Gu'n d'fhalbh na siuil a b'airde dhinn S cha robh air bòrd ach taillearan Gu'n tairneadh ead na ròpan.
Car son a bhiodh sinn cianail Us sgadan ann sna lin againn An sgiob s am bat gu sabhailte Siud! chailinn, lion an stop dhuina. Cha phòitear mi s cha dhrungar mi Ach ga'aidh mi dram an companaa Cha toil leam fhin na spongairean Kach toireadh bona à'm pòcaid.
125
CUMHA.
Le RaouU Domhniillacli, Uist a Cbiuiie Deas eadhon, RaouU mac Dho'uill Ic Aonghais Bhain, Smeclait, macli o theaghlach Glileauualadail. Thainigf a sheanair a dh' Uidhist fodh thearmud an deis dha biast-dubh (otter) a mliarbhadh bli'aior Mac-Ic-Alastair.
Do cliaraid chaidh a bhiithadh an Grianaig.
Fhuair mi naiglieaclid o dh' fhalbh mi
Nacli bu mhatli leam a dhearbliadli co luath
Air an Ù2"anacli thlaclid mhor
Nach eil diiil leam ri fhaicinn air chuairt
Cha do leag iad thu dhachaigb
Riuu iad tuilleadli s do ueart a tlioirt bhuat
S ann air deireadli na si^glie
A dheirich a mhiothlamli thruasrh.
S olc leam osnaicli do jilihisdean
N am tigliinn dhachaigli bho'n blial s iad
ri bròn Fear nach fhàgadh an cùil iad Bhi ua laighe guu diiil ri tighinn òirnn Gun robli beannachd MhicDe leat Gach latlia s e feumail gu leòir Ge da dh' fhalbh tliu na d' phàisd òirnn S ioma peacadh san latharach thig òirnn.
Tha do pheathraichean truagh dheth
S iad a Emaointinn cruaicm e gu leòir
Bho'n a chaill iad a tacsa
An robh cùram ri 'm faicinn air dòigh
Fear a ghabhadh an leisgeul
S nach robh guè dheth 'n lethtrom fodh d'
chòt S tu na d' shineadh sna bàighean Leam is duilich bhi ga d' stiùireadh feadh
òib.
12G
Chain do bhràthair a mhisneach Ged a tliachair dlia 'n trioblaia an oil Cuimhnicli, seall air sfach taobh dhiot Bhith na d' fhaire nacii fhaod e bhith 'd*
cliomliair Fear a bliualadh leat buille S e an àite nach iiirainn e dòrn S fheudar suidhe 'n am caonnaig Bidh tu tuillidh aig- daoiue fodh spòig.
Gu 'm bell cridhe do lahathar
S gur ann iimaJ a dh' fhixs e na gkual
Dk' fhao- thii faobhar ea tholladli
Air gach. taobli dhetli tlia pronnadh g\\ leòir
S e do thurns do Glirianaig
Rinn saod air a lionadh. s i òg
Gus an càirear san làr i
Clia tog a li-inntinn-sa car rÌ3 a cheòl.
Gu 'm beil t' atliair gu dcurach
Cha 'n eil ioglinadli learn fhein siu an dràsd
Dli' fhalbli gacli ni a bh air aire
Clia 'n eil iomradh air teannadli ri statli
Leig iad h-ugad an graide
Gur ann sgaoil iad fodh d' chasan am bat*
S rinn an Sassunach t' eucoir.
S cha d'amais thu fhein air an t-snàmh.
Tha iad deurach ga d' chumhadh
Ann sna duthchannan annad gu lion
Anns gach aite robh t'eòlas
Bha teisteanas coir air do ghniomh
Bha thu iriosal càirdeal
Eis gach duiue bu taileant thu riamh
Chionn gu'n robh thu cho baigheal
Thainig cuireadh co luath ort bho Chriost.
S luchd thogail na còrach
Cha'n eil h-aou 'u diugh mu'n chrò dhiubh
ri thrath Na DomhnuUaich uile Nuair thairrnt' iad bhiodh full aca blàth
127
S trie a leig tliu dhaibh bruadal Nam suidhe san uaille measg chàich Gus an dcachaidh an sgaoileadli Chuirteadli Sassunn an caonnaig mu d'bhàs.
Nam biodh ceartas an Albainn
Bhiodh mu t'àmliaich cainb air a bhord
Bhiodh an tuagh mu d' sgornan
Chain tbu buileach do tliròcair s do chiall
Ann am miadhon a cbaolais
Leig e'n triùir ud mu bharraibh nau tonn
S mor bha dhiombadh Mhic De ort
Ged a bhuinnig e fhein na cbaidb. sioB.
CEATHRANNA.
[A rinu am baud ceudua s e boclid.]
FojTN — Dh' fhàij thu ml muladach.
ilise tha trom airtneulacb Sa mhaduinn an am eirigh. A' smaointeachadh nam fearaibh. Feadh. a bbaile ri 'n cuid feuma.
A' smaointeachadh nam fearaibh Feadh a bhaile ri 'n cuid feuma Mise seo na m' shineadh S nach till iad bho 'n eug mi.
A tarruiun ugam dhrogaicliean S nach dian dotair feum dhomh Mise seo na m' shineadh S nach till iad bho 'n eug mi.
Mo leigheas aig mo Shlanuighear Bheir dùil do gach feumrach Mise seo na m' shineadh S nach till iad bho 'n eug mi.
12S
Cha d' fhuair sibh am Pears-Eaglais
domh S mòr m' eagal s mi gun eisdeaclid Mise seo iia m' shineadh S nach till iad blio 'u eug mi.
Mi cunntas mo chuid peacannan A mack air streath a cheile Mise seo na m' shineadh S nach till iad bho 'n eug mi.
Gu bheil na rinn mi fhin dhiubh Aig Micheil mhin era 'n leughadh Mise seo na m' shineadh S nach till iad bho 'n eug mi.
S mise seo gun chairdean Ach pàisdeachan na 'n leinidh Mise seo na m' shineadh S nach till iad bho 'n eug mi.
Mi smaointeachadh mo bhrathar An drasd a bhiodh e feumail Mise seo na m' shineadh S nach till iad bho 'n eug mi.
Cha bhidh thu, ghràidh, mu'n cuairt
domh Nam uaigh a chur ri cheile Mise seo na m' shineadh S nach till iad bho 'u eug mi.
Gur fada bhuam a ta thu Ni càcha an toil fhein rium Mise seo na m' shineadh S nach till iad bho 'n eug mi.
S gu 'm beil mi nis gun stòras Cha 'n fheòraich iad fhein mi Mise seo na m' shineadh S nach till iad bho 'n eug mi.
1-29
Cha tig- iad sfa mo sheallfcuinu
Na bheil aim diiibh s beaj^ an speis dhiom.
Mise seo iia m' shineadli
S iiach till iad blio 'u eug mi.
ALASTAR TORRAIDH— [TORRIE]. fLeis a BHARD cheudiia.]
x'liuair tliii òrdaii au Uidlxist —
Blia Clann Domhiiill auu a fuireacli —
Cuid iiau Niallacli a ritliist
Bhi air a shuidheachadh dha :
is fjriune ni s<rriobhadh S a labhairt na ilriuiie O theid mi dii' inuseadh Gach ni mar a biia.
Tha do nàdur cho nasal, 's leat beanuaclid
nan tuatlia Cha 'n fhaicear ort tuasaid s bu shiiaracli
ort a*
Chunna mise dol sios thu air each ban nan
ceum fiadliaich An cunnart a Chriosdiiidli na d' diiiollaid gu
h-hrd.
S e clieuni nach bu curaidhf 'n am falbli leis
air tliuras Air a slirein cha bhiodh cumail ach na spuir
ga tlioirt dha.
Tha mòran a smaointinn foinear do na daoine Bho chuir sibh fodh s^aoileadli luchd saoth- rach bhac' anu.
Cha 'n iarrainnsa tuilleadh nam fàgadh sibh
Iain Bho dhianainn a ruighinn nur a bhiodh rud
gann.
* à is Uist pronunciation of e — it, he. t Exhausted ; wearj'.
6a
130
Bha thu coingeis air Gàidhlig', gu 'm fagadh
tu càsan N am bruidline ri Baillidh 's tu b' fhearr
leam bha beò.
Bu mhath air ar ciilaobh gu reiteach gach
cùis thu Gur mise tha tiirsach s fear iir aig a bhòrd.
S o 'n thainig am Baillidh nach tuig bhuainn
a Gliaidhlig Cha 'n 'eil duine san kite, dha 'n fhaigh
càirdeas dad bhuaith
Is e'n t-airgiod an tarruinn, bheir i els bharr
na Gallaibh Gur mise tha galach o dhealaich sibh bhuainn.
Och us ochan mar tha mi o chaill mi mo
chàirdean Cha 'n urrainn domh àicheadh mar a tha mi
fodh bhròn.
Mi ri smaointeach nam fearaibh thug 1©
faobhar a mac^ i Ged thug Mac ic Ailein, òirnn seachad a choir,
Bha sibh ainmeil gu feum ann an Alba s aa
Eiriomi Gu 'n d' thug sibh Blàr-Lèine, a bha^reubadh
air feòil.
S a rithisd air Mor-thir dh' fhag sibh Siosal-
aich leòinte Gu 'n do phut Clann an Tòisich gu leòir
dhuibh nar coir.
Bha thu fiughantach daicheil bu choimh-dhea«
air enamh thu Air a ghunn' bha thu araid, bu tu namhaid
an ròin.
Nuair a theid e ri d' shuil-se aig aoduinn an
t-siùbhladh Nur a lasas ris t' fhudar cha tionndaidh e beò.
131
Tlia tlui ciunteacli a' d' shealsfair, 's e do
crhunna ui marbliadh S e b' fhiach a bhi falbh leat seach arm gun
doigh.
Tha e coimli-dheas
Is trie a Jeio; thu iia gadan dheth ua lachan sna li-òib. '
Do choiii feadh na friotha a falbli agiis sgriob
asda lad gu 'n gearradh an t-siuteag ag iarraidh
gliaoithe le stròn.
Ead a faighinn an fhàiliùli air na feidh mar
a b' abhuist Nur a chluinnear do làmha'cli bliiodh pàirt
dhiubh rrun deò.
DO SGOTH.
[Smodail leis a bhaed cheudna.]
Dh' flialbh gach airtneul a bh' òirnne nuair
a dhòl sinn na tri S e'n deireadh. bliuain a bh' aig Uiiieam chuir
gu m' fhulang mi fhin. Mi ri tomhas a rathaid mi tighinn dachaigh
le m' uuruim Ghabh mi null feadh na pairc s mi sior chrag-
nadh a pliuill. Thog na daoiu air du thòrachd s iàd fo bhròn
ann san am Ead ag radh nach mairionii h-aon a dh' fhan
s a bha ann. Ead ri cuuntas gach deifir s gach cuis freas-
dail a bh' ann Nach dian urnuigh pears-eaglais dad a sheaa-
amh dhaibh thall.
182
Oraii do dh' fhear Cille-Bride, Uilleam Mac Ille Mliaoil, a mhuinntir an Eilein S^iath- anaich blia caoimhneil dha 'n t-sluagh an am teirce nihoir (anno 1847 ?) leis a bhard cheudna.
Tapadh leat Uilleam ic Eoghain
Tha tliu mòr air fas a' d' nadur
Cridlie na feile gra, dhùsgadh
Bheir mi 'n ionnsuidh seo gun dail ort.
B 'e do mliiann a bhi ri f earann
Cha bhi gainne far am bi thu
Einn thn mulainn agns cruaclian
Chur suas an cille-Bhride.
Tha mi fhin a' sgur mar tha mi
Air mo sharachadh ga innse
Trie mi smaointinn ort Uilleam
Bu tu 'n ctiraidli nnr a n-hluaist thu.
Is math thig claidheamh caol chmn astar
Oir a f?hlaic* s tu dol gu cruadal
Is minic a thachradh ri d' chuid faobhuir
Nam dha d' ghairdean bhi ga bhualadh.
Bha thu Chamaranach gu cinnteach
Bha e sgniobht ort a 's gach lathair
A'd' iiinich as na blaraibh.
Ga b' e dh' iarradh e na dhùisgeadh
Air an tubh ad eile tha thvi
Tha thu dùbaiit as na Leodaich
S thug bith a choir o d' mhathair.
Thainig teircinn ann san t-samhradh
Sinn gun cheannard ann san tir seo
Cha robh feum dhuinn bhi ga ghearain
Feadh an fhearainn na bha dhith oirnn.
Nar a chual e gaoir na pàisdean
Mar a bha ead feadh na tire
Thug 6 'mhin a bùth nan Gallaibh
Ceann na beannachd thug a tinnf sinn.
* Uist way of saying, Air do ghlaic. t Teinn.
133
Sivid an t-òigear a blia uasal
Tha do o-hruaidliean dcar<if us lionta
Cas a shiubhal an t-sleibhe
S ann ri fenni a bhiodh tu cinnteach.
Tha do chaoirich a's na beannan
Tha orach frleannan apfad lionta
Bha thu trie air feill an Sasunn
Creic s a' ceannach na bha dhith ort.
OEAN SIIEUMAIS MHOIR. [leis a bhaed cheudna.]
S trie mo smaointean air Seumas
Duine fooliaintcach treubliach a bh'ann
Bha ainmeil sna fearainn
Bidh iad daonnan ga fharraid sa Fhraing-
Cha'n eil long tliig gun philot
S nach dian cuibhleas a th-aoisadh gu crann
Nuair a theid thu ga h-ionnsuidh
Bheir an sgiobair an stiiiir ann ad laimh.
Ge do thigeadh am f liùcadli
Agus seideadh us sileadh gu h-ard
Caitheadh mara gu h-iseil
S i air a ceongal s gach irean an sàs
Mar tha esan co eòlach
la e a leanadh an t-seòlaid a b'fheàrr
Cha teid acair bho guaillionn
Gus an eigheadh c — fhuasglaibh sa bhagh,
Làmh dhianamh nan gasgan
S a chuibhle s [am] fasgan nam ball
Bheir thu gramachadh cruaidh
Air gach riof as naeh fuasgail ann ceann
S leat an urram ga rireabh
Air gach fear an am direadh do'n chrajm
Airson eagal no faoineas.
Cha bu rud learn le d' dhaoino bhi ann.
Nuair theid thu do Lunnainn
Gu cinnteach bidh furan ort ann
Gu'm bi ounar gach luinge
Gabhail sgeula — se'm buinnig bhitheas ann
134
€lia'n eil aon bhitlieas an eiginn Nach toir Seumas à staiug Gus am faofadh tu'ii cal' iad Ou cinnteach le baraiitas teaiin.
Bii ill fiòitear na diblie
San tigli-ÒEda 'n am saidh aig- an dram
S til gu"m b'urrainn ga 'riag-hladh
€ha robb 'n daolaireachd rianih air do
lairali Gn'n robli diiMirbas do chinneadh Tif^binn an àird ort — cba b'iogbantach a. Am beai^an a db'fbà^j^ iad Tbr.it iad uile san lalbaracb a bb'ann.
Bii tu iasgair an sgadain
■S iomadb b-aon leis 'm bu mbatb leat bbi
ann Eadar Albainn us Eirinn S iad ga d' fheitbeamb-s — fear-feuma
mcaso- bball N am blii tarruing do lionabb S ioma fear bbiodb ga iarruidb "Siud e" S mur a bba tbu -jo fialaidb Db'fbà!>adli beannacbd gacb Criosduidh
iad Lin.
•CUMHA DO DIIOMHNULL FOIRBEIS.
Sagart a cbaocbail ann am Bun Ruaidh. Sbearmonaicb e tri ficbead bliadbna agus a ■dhii eadar Braigbe Locbaber s gacb ait eile.
[Le Alastaib Mor, Am Bard Abracb.]
Is e'n t-ocbd ceud tliar a mbile A db'fbàg sinn uile fodb mbi-gbeau S na b-ocbd doug s na tri iicbead A tbug bliuainn ar misncacb
S a cbiiir gu bruaidlean gacb sean agus òg.
S a cbuir gu bruaidlean gacb sean agus òg
•Cl'.aill sinn nil 3 ar misneacb
An am dimadb na ciste
'S iomadb sùil a bba silteacb
135
Bha gaoir bliròin measg nan dligheach Bho 's ann bhuaps' bba'n ioundraichinn
mhòr Bho 's ann bhuaps' bba'n ionndraichinn
nihòr.
Is iomadli neach a bha trnagh dheth Dar chaidh a thogail air guaillibh Au km treacliladh na h-uaighe Bha sinn uile an ornaidh-chits
Bhi call an saoi bu mhor feum aims gach seòl
Bhi call an saoi bu nihur feum anns gach
'S ann an Cill'-Chaoirill sa Bhraigh
Th-A. an saoi niòr air a chàradh
Ann an reilig a chivirdean
Na chairtealan geamhraidh
An ciste chumhainn s i druidta fo'n fhòd An ciste chumhainn s i druidta fo'n fhòd.
Bha sinn uile trom deurach Thainig sgrios le beum-sleibh oirnn Cl-aill sinn iteag chùl-sgèithe Ba shàr-bhuachail threud e
S e nacli cailleadli a spreidh ann sa cheò.
S e nach cailleadh a spreidh ann sa cheò.
Mar fhear-teagasg bha cliù aig
Is òg a dhcarbh e sa chùis ad
Cha b'ann le brais na le mùiseig
A bhiodli csan 'g ar stiùircadh
Ach gu foighidneach caoimhneil gun bhòsd Ach gu foighidneach caoimhneil gunbhòsd.
Bha sinn uile 'n trom luaidli air Cha d'thiig aoii neach idir riainh fuath dha S mor an t-ionndraichinn bhuainn e Dor a tiiigeadh an cruaidh-chiis
Bho'n b'c ar cairt-iùil s ar fear-sgeòid. Mo nigkean donn, &c.
136
S mòr' bheairn as au dùthaich Tear 'fliogluim s a ghiùlain A bhi bhiiainn gii'm b'e dixibliail An am socrachadh cùis e
Bho'n b'e fliein ar sgiatli-cliùil anns gacli
seòl Bbo'n b'e fheiu ar sgiatli-cliùil anus gacli seòl.
Bha a cliomliairle feumail
S dliearbli e moran domli fhein dbitk
Dor blia mise an eiginn
■Gun mhacnus guu eiblmeas
Gun aon neach fo'u glireiu tighinu na m'
choir Gun aon neach fo'n ghrein tighinn na m' choir.
Fhad s a dh'imich e'n saoghal Bha e taitneach us aoidheil Bha e seasrach us daonntach Gun ghaise gun chlaonadh
Ach gu fìùghantach suairce gun bho&d.
Ach gu fiùghantach suairce gun bhòsd.
Aa am tighinn gu aitreabh Bha e caoimhneil us taitneach Cha bhiodh bruaidlein na aigne Acli an uaisle mar chleachd e
•Bho'n b'e dhiithchas bhi caoimhneil us coir.
Bho'n b'e dhiithchas bhi caoimhneil us
Eha e measail aig uaislean Bha e iochdar ri truaghain AI^^ a bhair agus bhuaithe Gu ceanalta suairce
8 e sin an leasan a fhuair e'n tùs oig'.
S e sin an leasan a fhuair e'n tiis oig'.
137
Bha e caoimhncil lis bàiglicil Bha e ioclidor us pfrasor Bha e ciiineadail càirdeil Eo rioaliail na 'nàdur
Bha cad aiiineanili thug barr air s gach
SCÒ1
Blia oad ainneanili tliug barr air s gach seùl.
Bha sinn uile trom deiuach Mar is dual do gach creutair Cha dian mulad bonii fcum dhuinn 'S ann bu choir a bhi eibhiiin
Chionn s gu'm faic siiiu a cheil ann an
glòir. Chionn s gu'm faic sinn a cheil ann an glòir.
Tha'm bas mar chis oirnn uile
Air gach neach tha sa chruinne
Cha seachaiu e duine
Nach flieuui falbli air thurus
Nacli till gu brack gus a seas e sa aihòd Nach till gu bràch gus a seas e sa mhòd.
Tha bas mar chis air gach creutair
Dor a dh'fhuilig Mac De e
Dor a cliaidh e a cheusadh
A thoirt saorsa gu leir dhuinn
Chionn s gu'm bithimid leis fhein ann an
g-lòir. Chionn s gu'm bithimid leis fhein ann an glòir.
Is coir dhuinn cliii thoirt do Chriosda A dh'fhuasgail ar piantan Dor a pliaigli e na fiachaii A chaidh oirniie le'r diorrus
A chuir clann-daoine gu leir an trom-cheò.
A chuir claun-daoiue gu leir an trom-cheò.
13S
Bithidli mi nis a' cur crich air Elio'n tlia mi la^ aim an iimtinn Air blieag flioo;hluim gii sgriobliadh S a chur sios mar bu mliiann learn
Us ofuidheam solas o'u siorruidh dha aros.
Us guidheam solas gu siorruidh dha aros.
Is coir dhuinn uile blii taingeil
Gu'n d'th;iitiig ua àite
Pear fiùghantach gràsmhor
Ro rioghail na 'nadur
S tha riaghladh gach cxiis mar is coir, S tha riaghladh gach cviis mar is coir.
M A R B H R A N N.
Do Mhr Aonghas Mac-Ghill'-Iosa blia icmadh bliadhua na Shagai-t 'am IJràigh- Lochaber.
[Le NiAL Stuibhaed.]
Fhuair !iii naigheachd air Diluain a dh'fhàg^
an sliiagh na'n cas Ceann na h-Eaglais bhi air deile as a leine
bhain Ar n-Athair-eisteachd o ua dh'eug e, cha dian
leigh dhiiinn stàth O chòin a hiaidli! tha ionndraiu bhuainn,
nach tig e'n uair a bliais.
S ann an diugh tha sinn gun leirsinu, tha ar
speuclar bhuainn Dh'fhag siud mollaich air na speuran s air
na beanntaibh gruaim 'S beag an t-ioghnadh siud a riru 's ann tha'n
dith air sluaigh O'n la dh'fhalbii a sagart priseil, beul na
firinn bhuainn.
VM
Beannachd lag loat agUR laidir, fliir bii
bjilaithe gniii.s 'S til tliaisheaiiadh do cliailcaclid gu neo-
sgàtliach dluiinu Air do lionadh leis an Trianaid, 'a e Mac
Dhe do stiùir O na chaidli thu as ar fiamiis is cianail sinn
ga chionn.
Tha ar cridhcachan air lionadh, tursacli,
cianail, fann Sinn mar eòin bhig air sliabli 'deis na
sgiatban cliall O nacli faic sinn gniiis na feile air altair
Dhe gu brhch Mile beannachd nan diol-deirce 'dhianamh
reidh do chas.
C ait an criiinnich sinn Di-domhnuich mar
bu choir do 'n t-shiagh Ceann ar comhairl ns ar seòlaidh a chom-
hnuich anu san uaigh : Ig lionar oifig agus ùrnaigh chuir thu
duinne siias Nise o na chaidh thn null bhuainn gheobh
thu dubailt diiais.
Tha do chorp an Tom-nan- Aingeal air a
thasgaidh bhuainn Agus t' anam aig do Shlànuighear ann am
Parais bhuan Dh' fhag siud sinne dheth fo phramh air
linne ghlidcheas fuar 'S 8 do bhàs rib sinn gu lar, is e a ruisg sinn
truagh.
Is iomadh gal us achdan feumnach tha 'g
eirigli 'n diugh sa ghleann Tho na boclidan a sior eigheach ri Mac Dhe
mo'n call Bidh sinn uile troisgeach deirceach, gheibh
sin leigh a nail A leighiseas ar n-anma fein seach neach d'an
trend a chall.
140
RABHADH MHIC-SHIMI.*
Mhic Shimi! mosgail a d' sliuain Eiricli suas us cuimhnich d'olc Ma rinn thu dò-bheairt na's leòir Tha deireadh do sgeòil 'teannadh ort.
An aois a 'cur smal air do cheill Is alluidh an diein a cbi mi ort Pear muinmitir fliir-mliuinntir Dlie Blii an talamh breun le mi-thoirt.
Na bi cur sàradh air Dia Is fear gun chiall a blieanadli dho S nacli fhaodar dol tliar a cheart Our mairionn a neart gacli lò.
Tha cleireach an t-Sagairt an laimh Is neo-tliaingeil siud do"n Phap Am fear thug roimhe thusa a guais Is dona 'n duals a thug thu dhà.
Is iomadh donas us diombuaidh
A chunnaic do shluagh riamh ri d' linn
B'e siud an donas gun àgh
€huir sonas gu brach a' d' dhith.
Nis, 0 chaidh do chiall air chall
S gu 'n d'thug thu ball o'n fhear nach
coir Paic an leir an leth le d' rosg Miad an rosaid tha na lorg.
Ge uaibhreach thu 'n eirigh do neart Ge buadhail do neart a shealbh Tha burn tighinn fothad gun fhios. Is misd' thu gu'n bhristear air t' arm.
la misd' thu MacCailein bhi bhuat Is misd' thu 'n taobh-tuath gun bhi leat Is misd' thu gu'n mheall thu do righ Seal mu'n cuimhnich thu do leas.
* Lord Lovat's warniDg, after Joliii Han Keppoch's M.S. Probably by Father Farquharsou (of Strathglass), whose name occurs in the Ossianic controversy, according to the tradition of the Sliochd-An-Taighe family.
141
Ge mùirneach maiseach thu fhèin Ge sùrdach abartach treun Gj teomach sionnach nan cleaa Tha tuilleadh s a leas na dheiefh.
Tha natbraiclie neimlie san fhraoch Nach cnir thu le draoidheachd gu cloa Tha tuirc neimhe ri d' thaobh Feitheamh ri jjaoth fhaotuinn ort.
Tha faidheachd a' tighinn gu teachd Gu'n dianar creach ort na tòir Gu'm faicear do bhuidheann guncheann Gu"m bidh do chlann nuadh gun treòir.
Beaa^ ìoghnadh learn cridhe goirt Bhi gun fhios aip- fear do bheua Liuthad mollachd duine bochd Chuir thu fo d' chois gu d' eug.
Is mairg a dheasaicheadh dhut caisg Na chuireadh ola-bhais ri d' chre Na dheisdeadh d' fhaosaid gun stàth. i^ur dian thu faoilt ri grasan De.
Mhic Shimi ! mosgail a d' shuain Ge fad' an duain ruigear a ceann Tha ni' fhàisneachdsa tighinn gu dlùth Cha chuir thu air cliùl i le cainnt. Chit«ar do choluinn gun cheann*.
With the above compare the following metrical account of the life of our Lord, which must have been long, as two verses are taken to narrate our Lord's miracles from Marion Smith, daughter of Patrick Smith, the famed "sgialaiche;" also from Donald Campbell, father of Bard John: — Labhair Acham fàichdeil rium Gad a bha mi ànachdach Air ball bidh slàint air aisig dhut (Mu chlàisneachd us mo threòir).
* The piece is here (when Lovat comes to be repre- sented as beheaded) either defective, or it was intention- alii' left in that condition. >Vhat followed was impossible
14-2
Thusa ghairin gu li-imeacbdacli Air crann Esekiel Chuir cuamh ri cnàimh ri cheile Eadar fheitheau agus flieòil.
!Niuair cliualas ann 'n lerusalem Gu'n d'rueadh Eieh nan ludhach Cliaidli chatliair mhor gfu ùbraid S bha righ a cbriiin fodh bbròn.
Air banais Ghana Ghalilee Einn tliu 'n gniomli ro annasach. De bhùrn gblan na b-abbuinne Einn tbu'ni fiou bu datb-te cròic.
Cba tainie: cruaidb ua spairn ort An uair a dbuis-' tbxi Lasarus Ged tbuirt a pbiiitbar Màrta riut Tba 'bbrein' air fas na fbeòil.
LAOIDH NA BAN-FHIGHICH.
The weaveress's bymn was siinsr by Mrs Si itb. South Boisdale. A woman who had been working at sea-weed came into the house cold and wet. She congratulated the weaveress on her nice and comfortable oc- cupation. "I've goit my own troubles al- ways working with other people's goods, and the responsibility is great," said she, and she sang: —
Gur bochd an saibhir sanntach Nach leir leis fhein a ranntan Nuair theid an ceangal teann air An am a chur san lie.
Nuair theid a chur sa chàrnaich Gur beag an lùths na àbhachd Cho mor s gu'n dion e dh' fhàgail De dh* earneis no de chuid.
^■i•^
Nuair thèid a sliìiil a dhùnadh Sa chiste chaol nach diùlt ris Nach b' fheàrr nach beirt bho thus e Nuair theid a chunntais ris.
Cunntais mhor a phiaiiaidh 'S e siud a dh' fhagas shios sin Na iithichean r-u siorruidh B'e sin an niamhair dhubh.
B'e sin an nianihar whrannda
Gun eireachdas p;iin inlleachd
S a Dhia s a Riofh nan o^ràsan
Dian iochd us fabhar ris.
Tha ifrionn searbh le fuarachd Tha i na h-aite duathail S an Ti a rinn ar fuasg:ladh G'ar cumail bhuaithe sin.
Cairdeas agus coibhneas Do'n anam nach do thoill e S a Dhia s a Rig^h na soillse Gu'n fhoighnichdinn e riut.
S bha luchd nan saiafhdean cealg'acli Ga d' iarraidh le'n cuid armaibh. S do mhathair fhein a' falbh leat Ag iarraidh tearmad dhut.
Gu'n ghabh ead ciadan a!r9:id Airson thu fhein a niharbhadh Tha'n t-aithreachas cho dcarbhta S tha'n t-anfhainu aun sa mhur.
Gu'n d' rùiscr oir a shleisdean* Do chom ga 'thoirt o cheile Le giùlan a chroinn cheusaidh 8 do g-huala fhein ga chur.
Bha t' fhuil a' falbh na h-allta Us tairrnean anns trach laimh dhiot Nach truagh an tuigse bh'ann-san San am bhi ga'n cur.
* — air do shèisdean.
144
Nach do sheòl e t'aodunn S tu athair slua^h an t-sao»hail Na dh'fhalbh s na thi^ de dhaoin© Bha'm fiamh an aoguis riut.
An t-ian a bha sa g^hainntir Dh' eiricli e gun taing dhaibh Gu'n ghairm e air an t-slabhruidh Le saiglidean Righ nam feart.
TUIREAM.
Nighean Don à Còrnaìg.
(Tha do char air an fhonn).
Fonn — Mo nighean donn a Còrnaig
Gu'n robh thu buidhe bòidheach. Mo nighean donn a Còruaig.
S olc sgeula chuala mi
An luan an deigh an uòmhnaich.
Mo nighean donn, &c.
Nar chaidh each dha'n t-searmun Chaidh na sealgairean dha'n mhòintich. Mo nighean donn, &c.
Nan robh claidheamh rùisgt agam Gum fiachainn liiths nan dòrn daibh. Mo nighean donn, &c.
S mo nighean bhuidhe bhadaneich Na cadal air a mhointich.
Mo nighean donn, &c.
Gu'n robh do chuaillean slaodadh riut Do leine chaol na stròicean.
Mo nighean donn, <fec.
Gur truagh nach mi bha'n taca riut San lag an robh an dòbheairt.
Mo nighean donn, &c.
14.)
S olc an obair flieasc^air Icam IJhitli doasachadh do thòraidli.
Mo nigliean donn, &c.
S olc an obair mliaiduc loam Bhitli "cur nam fear an ordugli.
Mo niglican donn, &c.
S an deoch a bha <tu d' bhaiuuis 'sanu Gu t' fhalairidh. a dh' òladh,
Mo nighean douu, ifcc.
Clia tno'ainu dha na srbobha thii Ge b' mliiaghalach le òrd e.
Mo niglieau donn, etc.
Cha tugainn fein dha'n fhidhleir thu Ge binue e le 'mheòirean,
Mo nigliean donn, &c.
Cha tugainn a gliin idir thu S mi fliin a a'haoil an tòir ort.
Mo nighean douu, &c.
Shiiibhlainn fada fada leat Do'n eileau robh mi eòlach.
Mo niglieau douu, &c.
Eachainu do Cliinntire leat IS a thir a bharraich bhòidhich.
Mo nighean douu, &c.
Shiùbhlainn fada fada leat Gu eileau Locha Lochaidh,
Mo nigliean donn, &c,
Shiiibhlainn gu ruig Uidhist leat Am buidhichcadh au t-eorna.
Mo nighean douu, &c.
Is olc au sgeula chtiala mi An Luan an deigh an Dòmhnuich, Mo nighean donn, &c.
Father Allan Maclean, a nephew of Mr Maclean of Glen Uig, Moidart, was a most capable Gaelic poet; he excelled as a hunts- man, and was a fine hand at fishing. This priest was educated in Spain, and learned to speak Spanish like a native. He went to Cape Breton, where he died as priest in 1872. He was a univeraal favourite, could play the pipes, and was fond of dancing. He composed a number of hunting songs, and songs of every species. Some of these may still be held in memoi-y in Cape Breton. Everybody who knew him praised his talents and his warm generous character; he was unanimously es- teemed and allowed the benefit of his quali- ties. His song in praise of Miss Mary Mac- rae of Ardintoul proves him to have been a poet of fine genius.
OEAN MOLAIDH.
LEIS AN TJEEAIIACH AILEIN MACILLEATHAIN. FONN
Ho an clo dubh He an clo dubh Ho an clo dubu S fhearr am breacan.
Uidhist ghlas uan cradh-gheach* Tha'n traigh sin fada bho Ailean Gad is iomadh lamhach A dli'fhag o an cois na mara
Is aithne dhomh gach aite
Bhios grannda ri ci>r an t-sneachda
Is trie a gliabh mi tàmh ann
Fodh sgailean du dh'fhilleadh breacain.
* Shell-drakes : cradh-gheadh— stoand-goose or strand- drake ; ian breac geal s th'n coileach dheth'n t-seorea breac mu'ii inhaich.
147
Ghcobli mi gunna sonruichte
Air dòigk iiur theid mi a Ghlaschu
Is fearr na Nic an Toisich
Gad 's mor a bòsd aig Domliull Sagart.
Nur ohuirinn ri m' sliiiil o Gu fùdar a cliur na dlieannaibh Bhiodh Eon Glas a stairirich Stoirm air s e dol gu astar.
Mharbh mi'n coileach riabhach An t-ian is bria"-ha ann saii ealtuinn S Main ghxinn ga ppionadli Gu biadh 'dhianamh dha na sagairt.
Mur a biodii am f ùdair Air chill nam peilearan glasa Cha robh h-aon a's* duthaich Chuii-eadh smuid ri coileach. lacliunn.
O E A N.
LEIS AN L'EEAMACH AILEIN MACILLEATHAIN,
Do Mhiss Caimbeul, piutliar do Mhr Caim- beul, Sagart stuama suairce a dheug ann an Dalibrog, Uidhist a Chinne-Doas, November, 1893.
FONN
Nighean donu a cliotan duibli Nam faotuinn shuidhinn cuide riut Nighean donn a chotan duibh Nam faotuinn shuidliinn lamh riut.
Nam bu bhàrd a thaireadh iùl mi Sheinninn dan s gu'm b'ard mo cliliii ort Na nighean Barain na Diùca Tha suidh an cùirt na Banrighinn.
* — ann sa duthaich.
148
Chuireamaid seachad sracli grnamaii S dh' innseamaid le s&orsa duanag Eibliinn bg bha'm Bòrnisli fhuaracli S mor luaidh s gfach aite.
Cha'n eil fear ai^ a blieil oioflireachd Eadar Manaiim s Baile-Staoile Nach bi farraid dhiom le caoimhneas Maiglidinn na siil blatlia.
Do cliuailean craobliacli daonnan maiseach N'an ciabh òr-bliiiidh an ordiigli beaclidt Mala chaol fo'n caog au rasga S gruaidh mar dliearcagf fàsacli.
Ta do gliruaidhean mar ua ròsan Huiteach dearg air dealbli an neoinein Ta do dlieud gu reidh-gheal comhnard S boidheach leam an càradli.
Cioclian ban-glieal Ian dii bhnadlian Sioda blàth cur sgail mu'n cuairt daibh Slios mar eala blian nan stuadha Air bliarr nan ciiantan carr-gheal.
Calpa lionta min-gheal sunnta Le ceol fidhle piob no siùnnsar Troidh is finealta ni tionndadh Grrad air urlar claraidli.
Flinair thu bnaidh bu dual blio Dliiarmud Leanaidh pairt mi brach ri d' iargin* Cridhe blath fodh àilleacM ciiiocli A rinn gach ciail a thaladh.
* — posterity, fr prep iar and gin to beget.
140
ORAN MOLAIDH A RINNEADH MAR DHUAIS,
LEIS AN UEKAIIACH AILEIN MACILLEATHAIK,
Do mhaighdinn òg, Mairi Macrath, Ardin- toul, mil clioinneamli Lochaiblis, a thug dha lein'-aifrinu.
Tha seudau hiaclimhor an grunnd nau
ciiautan Nach deacli a bhuaiinachd le luasgadh thonn S tha geug nam buadhan le fear nach cnalas An diugh na m' thnarmsa mas buaidh dlia m'
fhonn.
A Mhairi aoidheil nach tig thii'n taobh-sa Le d' chuaileau craobhach ua 'm maoth thlà
donn A leug nan caoin-bhasan, do gliruaidh mar
chaorunn S do shlios mar fhaoilinn air aoduinn thonn.
S tu shiol nau àrmnnn thog biiaidh sna
blaraibh O Chrò Chinntàil, inid thàmh nan sonu Bu chlis sa bhàta s a bhristeadh charr-gheal. Is trie a shàraich iad Ian damh donn.
Tu shiol nan sealgaire a b'fhearr bha'n
Albainn A chleachd mar armachd an earr-chul donn S a bhristeadh targaid air slinnean mean-
amach, Fir-iasgaicli shaile, fir-fhalbh nan tonn.
Gad sheinn gach Salmadair breac le tailmrich
Air chorra-mhenrau s an earr-ghlas lorn
'S tu choisinn cliii le d' chiiid luinneag
siiibhlach S a chuir glas-chiiiil air an siùnnsar crom.
Is fallain nadur na stuic o'n d'fhas thu Ta buaidh na slainte fodh bhlath ad chom Mar lili bhàn air an lochan chàrra Us fiamh a ghair oirr' air barr nan tonn.
1.50
Do clieuni is fliinealta theid san ridhle Le ceol iia fidhle is misle pong Gacli aon a chi thii am barail cliinnteach Our imeaclid sitlie cluitli ghrinu do blionn.
Cha luaidh mi ainme do phearsa dhealbliaich Mu'n diiisg mi farmad us fearg ro throm Ged chuir do cheutadh Diana euchdach Ag altrum end riiit fodh sireitli nan tonn.
Do bhuadlian nadur' clia'n fhaodar aireamh
Le caogad bardaibh an dàu le fonn
Cha tiiig tliu t'àilleaclid gu ruig tku'n sgà-
than S mo shoraidli slau le d' cliul fainneach domi.
OEAN NA GRIUTHRAICH.
liEIS AN URBAMACH AILEAN MACILLEATHAIN.
Fonn — Ocli ns och us mo dhoriiinn Tuigidli moran mo ghalar Trom us tùrsacli na d' dheigli mi Ghniiis na feile s na glaine.
Nur a bha mi ann san loclidar Dh'fliàs mi boclid le coltas fiabhruis Dh'fhairich mi saighead a'm chliathaicli Mar gu'm bi iarunu ga' 3hàtliadh.
Oir mo laimbse Mhic do sheanair Gad a fliuair thu mi sa leabaidh Glieobh sin sgadan a Loch Carron Dh'fhàgas siun gu fallain làidir.
Nur a bheir mi dliiom an fhiasag Bunnan mora fada riabhacli -Cho fad ri inean cait fhiadliaich JBheireadli ead am biadh d bairnicli.
l.-.l
Nam biodh ag-am n^unua diibailt Paidhir fblask s adharc fliiidair Dhianainn ialadh air mo glilùinean S chiiirinn smiiid mii chul a cbràdh- gbeadb.
Leagamn urcbair ri bhi smearail Dheanadb tarneineacb us torrunn Dbuisgfeadb ci^agan agus clacbau Us critb air fearann Cblann-Ea'ill.
Db'eiricb mi gu mocb Diciadaoin Cba mi macb a dbianamb ialadb Tluiit mi air mo tbaobb sa lionaidb Air mo bbialii s air mo cbraigean.*
Oad tba mise seo na m' gblagair Is e mo cbasan cbuid a's airde.
O E A N.
Le Aongbus Doiuillacb, Sagairt am Barr- aidb, imair a bba liounadb (i.e., leannacbadb) air s a cbaidb a leigbecis leis au Dotar Leòdacb.
Dà mbios dhiag agus ratbaicb
Bho'u tbhrmuicb an cnap
A fbuair mise fo m' mbeòirean
Ann an cos air an asnaidb
Ged a bba e gun cbradb
Gu'n robb e fa.s mar an raiiiicb
S cba'n eil fbios ciod de'n t-aobbar
C'buir mo tbaobbs air an alt sin.
* Crògan. [Father An^s llacdonald died in Rome in 1833 as Rector of the Scotch CoUe^'e. He was of the Mac-ic-Ailein (Clan- ranald) family, and was born in Eigff. "I.aoidh A Phurgadair" is said to be by him. I need not give it here as it has been printed in Father Allan Macdoiiald'a Ccmihchruiniieachadk lU Lanidhe.an Spioradail (Oban : Hugh Macdonald, " Oban Times" Buildinjjs, Esplanade, 1893), pages 27-31].
15-2
Ged a blia mi san tigh-òsda Cba d'fhuair mi dorua na bat' ann S clia robli mi air an dòirick Cliuireadli taoim anu am pliearsainn Cha do thuit mi air garbhlach Ann an anmoch na moclitlirath Cha mliua thacliair mi'n tuasaid Dliianamli tuaireap na lochd dbomb.
Nuair a dk'fbairicb mo nadur
Gur fliodh a db'fbàsadh an cais e
Ge do bba e gun chradbadb
S e'n ti gii'n sàruiclite m' aisuean :
Gu'n robb cunnart no dbà
A bbi ga àrach na b'fbaide
Ge do dhiante mo riasladh
la e sgriob an iarruinn as fhasa.
S gur e'n cnap tba mi 'g raitinn Thog a lance, ghabb beacbd air; Thug e sgriob air gach taobh dbeth S a mheoirean sfraoilte ga 'fbaicinn Chuir e null e mu'n fraighe Thug sùid an airde le gradadh Leig e'n combair a chùil e S thug faobhur ùr e bbo'n asnaidh.
Gun d' fbosgail feadannan siiibblach Nuair a dbliithaicli an sgian ris Chraosgaoil sionnsar fo'n asnaicb S a cheami air atad ann sa chliatliaicb Dh'fhalbh sput as bba sàmhach Chaidh an airde le fiaradh Us thainig buaidh a bha cradh-dhearg E ruith gur lar s gun e fiaradh.
Gun d'fhuair an lighich air sealladh Mus d'rainig boinne dbeth 'n t-ùrlar Bha dual aige na 'laimb Ann san àite cbaidb spiit as Thug fear-freasdail da snaithle A chaidh chàradh gu dluth ris Sgaoil am bogha ann am briosgadh. Us chaidh bhristeadh an iipraid.
Chaidli an lot ud a dhiinadli
S an craicioun dliith a cliur fairis
Chaidli na plaint ir- an or dan
Lcis an ordae^ bha daingcan
Fo'n clirios a bha null air
Gabliail Kibadh iis tarrninn
S o falbh seachad gu boidheach
Anns gach dòigli am biodh baiinadh.
Gu'n robli nicall air an deili Us bu deistinn an sealladli Gu'n robh nieoirean air fhiaradh Chnaipean fiaraidh air bhealaich Gur ioma h-aon ann de'n t-scorsa Le cion foghluini ns aitlme An aite cobhar g'an slainte Bidh gu cràiteach ga ghearain
Thainig 'sin lighich a tuath dhuinn Bha sgileil snairce gu beachdail Bha measail aig uaislean Thaobh a ghhiasad s a bheachda Gur ioma h-aon tha san tir seo Bha diugh 'crionadh fo leacan Tha gu eireachdail laidir Gniomh do làimh agus t'fhacal.
S gu'm dhiubh sin a bha'n Leòdach Gu'n d'fhuair e fòghlum us aithne Gu'n robh laimh air a dhearbhadh Us ainm anns s^ach fearann Gu'n d'rinn e'u t-saothair ud cinnteach Gur fad a bhios mi na' anfhiach Mur dian mi ga d' phaigheadh Guidheam grasan dha t'auam.
7a
ORAN DO MHAC NEILL BHARRAIDH RI LINN COGADH NAPOLEAIN.
LE MR AONGHUS CEUDNA.
S thàin naig-lieaclicl gu'v n-ionnsuidh
Dh'fhag sinn uile fodh ckuram san am
Mu thigearna na dùthcha
Bhi 'n Catli Waterloo s bu mhor call
Far robh suiim ua Roinn-Eòrpa
N deigh tarruinn an òrdan gu stri
Is lionar curaidh a leònadh
Agus mili gun deò a dli"fhan sliios.
Cliaidli tu a riogliaclid na Spainte
Far robh neart aig an nanilinid gii leùir
A h-uile latha bha blàr ann
Fhuair tiUi'n urram gcd blia thn ro òg
Dhearbli thn spionnadh a Ghàidlieil
Claidheamk mor de chruaidli stàilinn na d'
dhòrn S thug thu mach a bbuaidh-làrach Is lionar corp bba san àrfhaich oun deò
Nam beanadh dhut luaidhe
S tu thuiteam an cruadal a bhlair
Is lionar neach bhiodh ga d'ionndrainn
S a shileadh an suilean gu làr
Is ioiiiadh baintighearna riomhach
Bhiodh duilich gu dilinn a' d' dheigh
Leis am b' fheairrd' thu ri d' phùsadh
No ged bheirte an Roinn Eòrpa dhaibh fhein.
Thainig litir a Sasunn Gcu'n robh Poni air ais ann san Fhraing Gu'n robh Ludhais na 'eiginn Gu'n robh 'chuideachadh feumail san am Chaidh do chur arm san trùpa Gu bhi mar ris an Diiica bha thall S fhuaii- an Corsican glaodhadh S theich a ghraisg mar a dh't'haod iadbho"u chall.
loo
Bii t.u mhaig-lidinn ri t' fhaiciim
Is tu laocli sa chatli nach robh crion
Bu til mliisiieacli an cniadal
Nach critheadh "n am gluasad san t-stritli
Mar bha 'chrea^' bha san fhairge
Seasamh daingean romli gharor bkristeadh
thonn Seasnidh tnsa romh d' namhuid Doirtidh fuil air do dhearnaibh s do lann.
Miir a reacliadh tu na d' eideadh
S a cliiteadli na dheioli thu am blàr
Cba bhiodh sfiil ach a dh'aon taobh
Gabbail beachd ort le iognadh gun tàmli
Bhiodb na h-uinneagan lionta
S iad a sealltuinn sios ort air straid
Bheil do leithid fodh Sbeòras
Ann am pearsaidb am boicKead na'm blaih?
CUMHA DO CHOIENEIL MACNEILL
LE Mli AONGHUS CIANDA.
An raoir a cbuala mi'n naigbeachd
A dh'fhag gun aighear gun sunnd mi
Gu'n robli Ruaraidk na laigba
S e gun umliail dha 'dliùtbaich
A's a cbrann air a chhradh
An deigb na tairnenn ga dhlùthadh
Is e thu dh' fhalbh a SJiasunn
A dh'fhag fodh airtcal do nihùmntir.
Mile marbhaisg' an t-saoghal
Is e tha caocidaideach carrach
Gur a lionaire chùrsa
Na'm maduinn-driuchd air an talamh
An neach bha'n de ann an solas
An diugh gu brònach ga ghearain
Gun leag a chuibhle gu lar e
An de bbin aird ann an scalladh.
156
Gur e mo tlmxaiglise am bannal
An diugh gad sgaradh bho d' dhuthaich
Sior cliur sios air do bheusan
Glmùis na feile ga d' ioundrainn
lis clia b'ioghnadli dliaibh-p fhein sin
Bu tn 'n tr<>is air an ciilaobh
S tu jjnch fhaic'dh ead an eiginn
Fann no feumnach le diùbhail.
Nuair a tliigeadli an ganntar Na daoine fann le cion speird S nach b'ionnan s an sanntacli Nacli dian sealltuinu do'n trend sin Is ann a tlieirte ri d' bliaillidb : Na biodh fàilinn no eis orr' Na biodh caomhaineadh a'm' jjlioca S air a leòir dha'n dian feum dheth.
Is liònar banntrach tlia d'fhearann
Tlia'n diugh ag gearain gu deurach
Nach fhaic lad thu'm Barraidh
A High! bu nihathasach d'fheum daibh
Nam biodh dilleachdan falamh
Is tu gu'n sealladh gu leir orr'
S bu bheag an ciiram dha'n gheamhradh
S Mac-Neill na cheann air an treud sin.
Is lionar neach th'ann na d' dhùthaich Tha'n diugh fodh chùram ga chall sin Is ann dhivibh Domhniill ri ghradhtinn Tha 'Vatersai thali dhuinn Chain e unnad a bhrathair Chain e chairdeas us aunsachd Bu tu uair agus fhortan Bu tu olc agus annradh.
Is beag an t-ioghnadh do phiuthar Bhi gu dubhach trom deurach Mar ris' teaghlach. ac uile Bhi'n cumhadh mu d' dheighinn Gu'ni onair le Diiic i Cho dlùtli dhut ri h-iarraidh Le d'fhoghlum s le d' ghliocas S leis an tuigse thug Dia dhut.
157
An am bhi cunntais a mhail tlhut B'e blii baigheil du chleachdadh. 'S til nacb niaoidbcadh a bharlinn Air fear-anraidh na dreapadh Ged nacb diauta dbut pcaghadh B'ann leis càirdeas us fasgadh Mar ri còmbuuidb dba phaisdean -Gun bbi 'rainicb le acras.
.Fhuair thu dearbbadh s gach àite
As na tbarruinn ead iiil orb
Eadar Albainn us Sasiuin
S na b'fbaide ua cbunntais
Ann an riagbladb an airgid
Bha tbu ainmeil sa cbiiis ad
Mar an seobhag san ealtuiun
Bba tbu dearct' anns gach diithaich,
Fbuair tbu dearbbadb s gacb aite Tbu bbi cairdeil us deirceil Tbu bbi iriosal bàigbeal S gu b-hraid ri feumnacb Nam biodb diblidb fodb annradb TJs t' fbàrdracb ri cbeile Tha mo dbùil as an Ard-rigb Gu'n du pbaigb e ga reir tbu.
A del an coinneamb do namhuid Cha bu sgàtbacb oir 'eacb tbu S tu toirt seacbad an ordain Mar bu cbòir do cbeann-feacbda Nur a cbitbeadh tbii'n t'am ann B'e bhi ann do chleachdadh S b'e mo thiuaigh do'n phairt sin Sbeasadb dana romb d'pbearsain.
Is mor mo chruadal mu'n mhaidsear Thu'n drasd air a leònadb Leis an t-saigbead a cbràidb tbu Bho'n a dh'fbàg e fodh'n fbòd thu Cba b'iogbnadh dha fliein sin Is tu nacb treigeadb ri bheo e Bba sibb càirdeacb dba cbeile Mar ri speis agus eolas.
158
Mar a blia ort-s wach ceiitadh
Bha tliu treunmhor us neartor
Blia tliu deas dealbhach
S tu R'un chearba ri t'fliaicinn
Bha thii blasd ann ad sheancluis
Bha thii ainnieil an eachdraidh
Bha do lilihirt f?a reir sin
S lu iico-bhonnail a' d' fliacal.
A "Ruaraidh òg dliut mo dhurachd-s Glac an stiiiir us dian feum dhut Mar cheann-cinnidh dian cliù dhi Mar a bu dùthchas do'n treibh sin; Seacliam obairt na h-oige Na bi strògfhail am mi-sta Fhuair thii'u t'arnn ^-nn bliearna Cum e sflan s na dian diochuimhn.
ORAN DO MHAC NEILL.
LE MR AOXGHUS CIANDA.
Tha mi fodh mhi-trhean
Aof iarraidh fearaiun domh fhin air an
tuath Is ann a dhòrdiiicheadh ^ììh dhomh Gus mo chreideas s mi fhin chumail suas S mur a b'urrainn mi phaipfheadh Bidh mi ao- gfuidhe air mo Shlanuighear gu
cruaidh Do mhac a bhi 'd" àite Ann am Barrai an aiofh mar bu dual.
Is ann a fhuair thu bho d' nadur Cridhe foinneadail blàthsor ro mhor; Gabh bho t'athair an samhladh Thuo' e seachad s gach am air a choir
* Mh pronounced like w in Englisli " cow ;" oir 'each — air t'each ; ioghnadh pronounced iounadh ; libhirt — heritage ; neo-bhonnail— neo-bhorrail, i.e., not swaggering.
159
Bi iia d tliacsa gr'an bhaiitraicli Diana' 'n dilleaclulan fann a chur siias Taisbcin iochd-sau do'n diblidli, Gheobli thu 'mios riim do sbinnsearaclid buau.
Is fada muinntir fo cbùram
Tha liunn-diibh orra drùgbadb ^ach là
Ach bheir misiieachd us dùthchas
Dhut bhi daonnan air thus auu sa bhlar :
Ma tha'u t-sith sin cho truat^h dheth
S guu tobhair ead bhuaiun thu gun dàil
Bidh sinn uile fodh mhi-ghean
Ma tba'n naigbeachd ad cinnteach a thàin'.
Thainig naigbeachd bbo Shasunn
Thug dbuinn furtacbd bho'n t-sacsa an de
Gu bheil sgeul air tighinn dachaigb
Gu'm bcil Euari gun dad air gun bheud
Las ar cridhean le solas
Fhuair fallain o'u doruinu a bha'nn
Thu thighinn thugainue sabhailt
Gu d' chuideacbd s gu d' cbàirdean a nail.
Tha leam dul air a chunntais
Is ceann fin' thu le cliii thar Cloiun Nill
Is lad n'an treubh ann san duthaicb
S nach eil fios co'n taobh as an tir
Treubh tha fialaidh mu'n chùiuueadh
Treubh bha macauta mùirnte s gac-h ni
Treubh iriseal cliiiiteach
A sheasadh gun tionndadh an Eigh.
TUEUS NEILL A MHIONNLAIDH.
Air tighinn bharr Galldachd Do Niall san am sin Bhios daoine trang s iad Buan an eorna.
S a bhean s a chlann aig Air thuar bhi caillte Gun bhiadh gun annlann Gun deoch gun mhòine:
160
Ocli, ocli, mar tha mi Us mi na m" aoiiar Dol romli na caoil far A' robh mi eolach.
Ged 's moch a dli'fhalbh mi Gun bliiadh gun iirnuigli 'Se thug- mo thùr aaam Sugh an eòrna.
A null mu Shanndraigh S a' ghaoth clio gann domb Ghrad leum an crann mach A' troinn na geolaidh.
S mar bi Sgeir Linia
Bha mise millte
S ged fhuair mi innte
Bha m' inntinn bròna^h.
An uair a dhir mi Os cionn na stuadhach 'S ann theap mo cbluasan Bhi air am bodhradh.
S na sgairbh ag eigheach Gur ann a dh'eug mi S nach fhad gu'm feumainit Bhi air mo ròsladh.
Nam faighinn innse Dha'n t-sagart "-baolach Gur e an daorach
Thug orm seoladh.
Bhiodh m'inntinn aotrun S bhiodh m' anam saor us Chaoidh cha taoghaiuu Na taigheau òsda.
Bha Eoghain Stiubhard Fodh mhoran ciirara S e ann an dùil gur
E bh' annam bòcan.
16)
Blia inise tùraacli Mi air mo orhluinean A' gabhail m' urnuigli
('S anil donih bii chòitv sin.)
Blia Iain Knadli Fodli iirrad gruaimeiii Gu'n sheas a gliniaij air A clicann mar cliònusg.
Us Mac-an-t-Shaoir s e Gun stad ag glaodliaicli 'Ne duine saoglialta
No an e an ròn thu ?
Tlia Dòmliull Eoghainn Na dhuiiie tùrail R e fhcin a stiiiireadh Ged tha o leointe.
Us bithidli e 'diirdal S a' loin* ga cliiùrradh Ach dearbh co dkin(bli)
'S math "rinn en t-òran.
LATHA XAN TEI-RIGHREAN.
Fhuaras an diian seo am measg paipearean Mhr Alastair Gillie^J, Sagart a bh'ann an Eilean Eig^e.
Air dhuinn bhi la 'sa bheinn-sheilg An oidhche a' teachd 'oirnn le smal Chunnacas reul a b'aillidh snuadh A' teachd a nuas o'n airde 'n ear Thog Coibhi nan ciabh liath a cheann A' lùbadh a ghliiin sios gu grad — "Ei;*dibh ri sgial tha ro bhinn S ar Slanuighear nise ar teachd."
162
Labhair au t-seann draoidli g\i h-ard — "O moladli do dh'ard rigb ua flath A tha 'taisbean dhuinn mo Dhia na' gras Mar thubbairt na fàidbean bbo sbean; Iniich a Righ na' geiir lann Tho(bb)airt aoraidh do righ na' flatli Imich s tkoir leat-sa righ Eirinn S rigk Shasimn nack geill sa ckatk."
"' 'S ro-aoibhneack leam-sa do chainnt" Tkubkairt Treunmor a b'àillidk snuadk Mar fkuaim srutk uaibkreack nam beann Okluais e romk'n gkleann fodk ckruaidk Skiubkail na rigkrean gun dàil Tkar sàile le'n lougaibk luatk 8 an rionnag daonnan 'g an stiuireadk Bko ckùrsa na k-airde tuatka: Mar tkorc ciar air ckruaick nam beann Ckuala Herod mu tkeackd nan rigkrean, <h\ griiamack, dorclaa gun fkialackd Bka'n t-Iudkack ag iarraidk tiiasaid.
Mar gkluaiseas srutk uaibkreack nam
beann Gkluais Treunmor air tkiis nam fear Mar dkarack ard uan gleann Skeas' Rigk na k-Alba ri 'sklcagk; Mar bkeum-sleagk 'teackd bko'n gkleann A spionadk leis gack craobk us creag Mar sin a bka gluasad nan rigkrean A' dol sios tkuu a ckatk.
■"Fosadk," tliubkairt Herod le oillt, "Air comkrag nan lann s nan sleagk Ma tkaiuig sibkse mar ckàirdean Tkigibk gun dàil tkun na cuirme." Gkluais na rigkrean na'n oraick Okluais Treunmor gun sgatk gnn fkiamh Sgiatk bkallack an crockadk ri tkaobb A cklogaid air taobk a ckinn.
163
Ràiuig iad aitrcabh an rigli
Oun ghuth air strì no air conihrag
An t-slige dol trice mu'n cuairt
Dh'aom oidhclie gii luath le solas.
'Sa mhaduinn nuair dh'ìmich na righrean*
S a dli'fhàg iad tigh mor a choisridh
Chunnaic iad le fior thoilinntinn
An rionnag a' teachd na'n comhdhail.
Fliuair iad òigh. bu mhothar snuadh An tigh i'uar giin sgatli gun dian Righ nam feartan air a glùn A' ghnùis a' dealradh mar ghrian. Thuit na deoir bho righ nan laini 'Toirt aoraidli do Rigli nan Tiii^lircan An òigh toirt dhaibli mile tain^: Le aoibhneas s le nior tlioilinntinn.
M A R B H R A N N.
A rinneadh le sagart ann am Mòrar Ic Shimi air d'a dhà bliratliair flièin agus an diiine aig a pliiutliar biiitli air am bàtliadh.
Is duilicli leam a nocLtd Iain Ghraundaicli Gu'u cbaiU thu 'clilann a b'fheàrr beus Theirinn fbèin gii'm biomaid taiugeil lur a biodli 'ad ann le cheil; Seo a bliliadhna liath romh 'n àm tliu Dh'fhàg i mail us trom na d' chcum thu Claa'n eil ioghnadh thu bliitli ann Gur mor tha 'cliall a measg nau ceud ort.
Acli ma dh'fhalbli sibh air an tujus Oun tilloadh tuiUeadh gu ur càirdcan Dianaibh siblise galar fulainn ÀLaoa li-urra i-.àbli o'r nàdur
* Cf Relicto aiilae strepitu iterum vidunt stellara.
164
Marbb-pliaisg- air an t-saoghal uile Clia'n eil duiue ri bliith tàmh ann Ach mar thilgeadh craobli a duilleack Mise 'n diugh us tusa 'maireach.
Ach Alasdair Bbain a charaid
'S fhada learn a tha thu'n iochdar
'S òs; a bba thu na mo thaice
Is carthannach a bba mi riamb ort
lilia tliu siobbalta ri t'fbaiciun
O "se "chleacbd tbii'n àite miothlacbd
Clja bu mhac tiui mar an t-athair
Nam bisdu atbarracbadb fiamb ort.
Oigear a chloinn Ic-Leoid tlm Ged nacb b' agani-s' aitbne dhlùtli ort Ged nach robb mi umad eolach ■'Se na b-eoiaicb bheir an cliù ort; Mac an atbar nacb robb comb^acb I'huair e 'leoir s bu mhòr an dhibbail Cliuir e am fear eil' fo'n fbòid dbiubb S cba rubh sid ciio niòr ri ionndrainn.
Nam b'e stoirni a dbian'dh iir mealladh
Cba bbiodb a gbearain cbo mòr dhibb
Na ain-neart am miadbon mara
Ach 's ann a chailleadh na fir eolacb
S 'ad a' tighinn ri cois a' chladaicb
lad tighinn dachaigh bharr a vòge (voyage)
Gur e "Seillear" dubh a chala
S i na h-astar oidlicbe Dhònuich.
"Us tha Ann' gu tùrsach galach
Cha'n eil ioghnadh mar a tha i
S i bhi cumbadh fear an taighe
A deagh chaidreamh s a deagh bhrathair
Nuair a db'eireas i sfj, nibaduinn
Bithidh a' leabaidh lom fas
Mar gu'n rachadh sgian na 'cridhe
Bidh i mar sin fad' a làithean.
165
Tlia Anna gu tùrsach tniagli dlictli
A gruaidhean gu silteach siublilacli
I i-i cumhadh na blieil buaithe
Measg an t-sluaigh bu mhor a li-ionndrainn
An Dia a thucf dluit 'sc tlniof blinat 'ad
Ni e fuasgladli anns gacli cùis dhut
Ach. 's duilich leam am bàs a fhuair 'ad
Sgrios a chuain s an naigh ga' dùnadh.
Bho Mhairi nighean Thormoid ic lUe- IVIliaoil, Tirrh an l>sagairt, Eiisgai, 10 Dec-
embor, ]S9:;
OKAN AN A^ilADAIN BHOTDniCK.
Tba e air aithris gur e ma<; ministear a Iili'ann, a mhuinntir Ghearrloch s gu'n do ghabh. e gaol air banarach 'athar. Cha robli am ministear ro thoileacli air seo. t'oma CO dliiiibli cliiiir e a mliac do'ii Oil- tbigk s chaidh na litricbeau a bba e 'cur clinice a cheaiDadh. La dbe na lathaichibh cbaidh innseadh dhi gu'n d'fhuair e'm bas aun an tigh-eiridinn. Ghabh 1 gus anleab- aidh s clia d'eirich i tuilhdh. Air dhàsaii Ijhi air tilleadh dhachaidh co choinnich e inu"n phhirc, treis bho'n tigh, ach searbh- ant agiis dh'fharraid e dhi ciamar bha bhanarach. "Oh," ors ise "uach cuala tii ilicin mar thar" Na dheighidh seo chaidii e s laigh e air an uaigh aicc ; bha e a caoidh s ri bròn ro mhor s a reir mar a chuaia mise chaidh e cho mor bho 'aire fhein s gu'n robh e ag itheadh an fhiair a bha fas os <.'ionn na h-ùracli. Thainig 'athair an sin s ghabh e dha leis an t-strein. Se buil a bli'aun gu'n do threig a chiall e s bhiodh e air uairean na shlaod an sid s an seo mar neach gun mlioineid. Ged bha e air dul bho
'reusan blia e siubhal na dutlicha — gu math trice giin aodach. Fhuaras e iia laigh air là fuar sneacb daidli air taobh sbìos na Manacbainn, mas math mo cliuimhne, s gun air de choinlulach ach caob de sheol hiinje agus sin flièin air reothadh air. Cbaidh adhlaioeadh an cladh Cbille Chriosd faisg air Blàr an I'ird. Is e'n t-amadan bòìdli- each bh'aiqf an t-slnagb air s tbeireadh cuid ris an t-aniadan riiisgt. Tha mi 'dianamn dheth gu'n do cliaocbail e bbo cbionn còrr agiis leth-chiad bli,adbna.
FoNN — -Cba cbadal, cha chadal Clia chadal s cba tàmb .S mi bin smaointinn mo leannain Eibbinn tbairis cbiùin tlilàtb.
Sco a bbliadbna 'cbuir às domh S tbug a fait 'bbàrr mo cbinn A cbuid nacli eil detb air glasadb A' i'albh na shad leis a ghaoith.
Tha mo shuilean a' sileadh Cheart cho mire ri allt Tha mo bheul ar fàs tioram S tba mo cbridlie air fàs fann.
Tha osach throm air mo chridhe Nacb tog fiodhull na pìob Bbo'n là dbealaich mo leanuan Fiium air cladach Port Rìgh.
Note. — According to information j,'ot by the Rev. A. Maclean-Sinclair from Malcolm Maclean, a native of Snizort, the authorship was as follows :— " Malcolm Mac- lean, son of Anfjus Maclean, mason, a native of the parish of Snizort, came to this country in 1858 He is quite an intelligent man, and knows a good deal about Gaelic songs. He called at the Manse recently and got ques- tioned about Oran an Amadain Bhoidhich. I got the following information from him : Angus Matheson, son of William Matheson, of the parish of Portree, Skye, was the author of the song which is ascribed in The ' Highland News ' to the Aniadan Boidheach. He composed it about the year 1828 for a young girl named Nicholson, who emigrated to America at the time. He died in decline
167
Is clioin(b)ach mis' air mo chairdean S air mo phhrantan fein Nach do leisr ead dhombs' phòsadli An ribhinn òg a b'fheàrr beus.
Tlia ganli aon diubh ajr radhtinn Fhir gun nàire gun cheill Is ann a tlioill thu do shràcadb Ann san laraicli le streiii.
Innsidh mise mu m' Icannan — Gruaidh tbana dbearg' mar 'n ròs Suil ghorm fodb chaol mbala Slios mar eal' air an Ion.
Beul is biune na teudan Fait na cbleitein de'n or Calpa ci-ninn a cbeum eutroni A thooradli m' eislein s mo bhròn.
Is truagh nach robh mi s mo leannan
Urrad fad' ann sa bbeinn
Ann an lagan beag soilleir
Far 'm biodb an coileacb a' seinn.
Gun duine bbi faisg oirnn Far a faiceadh ead sinn Ach mise s an òigh s o! Eigh bu sliòlasacb sinn.
Dbianainn treohbadb a stearrach S cbuirinn gearran an crann Ghleidbinn seòl dbut air aran Ged tha'm beartas air cball.
the following year. The first verse is, ' So a bhliadhna chuir as domh,' &c. Th- second is as follows : — " Cha dean lighich' boiin feuin' dhomh " Dad fo 'n ghrein ach aon ni, " Bho nach fhaicini. mo cheud ghaol, " 'S rai call mo cheille dha dith. " The third verse is, ' Tha mo shuilean airsileadh.'&c, and the fourth, ' Chaidh m' astar am maillead,' &c. The fifth verse is as follows : —
" Tha mo shuilean gun leirsinn, " 'S gach ball do reir sin gun chli, " Bho 'n la 'dhealaich mo leannan " Rium air cladach Port Bigh.
168
Blieiiiun fiaclb dhut a fhsach Thog-ainn amhran le fonii S gfu stiuirirm am bata Air mor àirdead nan tonn.
Ged bliiodh agam do stòras Na bheii a dh'òr aig an Righ B'fheàrr bhi comhla ri m' Sheònaid Ann an seomar leinn fhin.
Dh'fhuaigliiuu bait dhut ri brògan Bileacli boidheach s cho teann Gheobbainn core dhut us eòrna Cha bhiodu do stòras-sa gann.
Och nan och! mo chùis-mhulaid Mu 111 nach urrainn mi inns' Laigii sachd air mo chridh Nach tog liodhuU na jDiob.
Us an cadal an cadal
Cha'n eil an cadal an dan
O nach fhaic mi mo leaunan
An ribhinn thairis chiuin thlath.
Cha dian lighich bonn fevim dhomh No siigh fodh 'n ghrein ach 't-aon ni Mi bhi 'faicinn mo cheud-ghradh S mi 'call mo cheill air a ti.
A da ghruaidh mar an caornnn A slios mar fhaoilinn air chàrn Is e bhi sealltuinn na t'aoduinn A bheireadJi, 'ghaoil, dhomh mo shlaiut
" In the sixteenth verse, which should be the eleventh for ' Laigh sac air mo chridhe ' read ' Tha sac trom air mo chridhe.'"
Certainly several ^ ariants exist— all of them sufficient to show that a real basis of fact lay behiud. The pure fact it may not be possible now to recover. In the Lovat country it was attributed to the Amadan Ruisgt, who ■was found dead near Beauly from 3U-50 years ago. Possibly his song had a few stanzas of his own added to Matheson's original ; possibly vice versa. The notes of grief in the first four aud in the last eight stanzas are at any rate very touching. Romance has touched the rest. Sinclair's Oranaiche, p. 191, gives another version.
169
Tlia mo shiìileau air siloadh Clieart cbo mire ri allt Tba mo bheul air fas tioram S tha mo bhil air fas mall.
Cbaidh m'astar am mailled
S cbaidb mo mbisneachd air chall
Is tniagli nacb d'cbuir sibh mi n
tasgaidb Ann sa cblacban ud tliall.
Mo sliiiileau uis sileadb Mo chridli air fas fann Chain mo cbasan an coiseachd S tba mo cbeuman air cball.
Ocb! an cadal cba cbadal
Cba cbadal s clia thmb
Mi bbi smaointinn mo leannain
An rlbbinu tbairis cbiùin tblàtb.
C U M H A.
DO NIGHEAN ALASDAIE NIGHEAN AONGHUIS IC IAIN LEIS A BHAED CHIANDA.
Gur a mis' tha fodh mhulad
Mi ri ioundrainn mo chruiuneig gun tàmii
Einn tbu falbb uainn an uiridb
Air a bbàt ann an cuideachadb chàicb
Cba robb sinne gad' ionndi-ainn
S tu ri tighinn g'ar n-ionnsuidb gun dàil
Is truagb aEigh! mar a tbachair
Binn an nà(mb)ud tbu 'gblacadb 'am baa.
'Se tbu db'fhalbb s gun tbu tbilleadb Cbuir an t-saighead na ni' chridhe cbo luatli Db'fhag e m' inntinn gu tùrsacb Db'fbàg snigb mo sbiil air mo gbruaidb Bbo'n a cbaidbo do chairea(mh) Ann an ciste cbaol chlàraicb san uaigb Far nacb cluinn tbu mo chombradb Gad tba mis umad brònacb gacb uair.
8
170
'Se bhi gmaoiutinn clio trie ort
Dk'fhàg mo cliridlie fodh mliulad s foclh
bhron Dh'fhàg e m' aignidli-sa dùdlacli Is trie a' sileadh o m' slinilean na deoir Ann am cliadal a am dliùsgadh Bidh mi smaointinn gu dlù oir a dhoio^li* Is truagli nach mise blaa làmh riut Far an deachaidh do cliàireamli fodh'u fhòd.
S fliuair sinn sg-eul far an aisij
Nacli robli èibiiinn na taitneach san àm
Thusa fhèin g-a d' chàradh
S tu Gfun Bheurla na Gìiidhlig na d' cheann —
Comas ireaGfairt na amaisidh
Na do litir a sgriobhadh le peann —
Sin an naigheachd a Icon mi
Sgeul do bhlvis a tlioirt dhombsa romb'n am.
S gad a thug am bàs uainn tliu
Cha'n e sin tha ga m' ghiialadh gu trang
Tha e daonnan mxi'n cnairt oirnn
Cha'n eil saod air tighinn bhuaith aig an
am 'Se dh'fhhg m'inntinnc txirsach Agns snigh' air mo shi"ùlean mar allt A bhi smaointinn gu dlii air Ihu bhi 'd' shineadh an diithaich nan Gall.
Ach 'se bhi taingeil ar cnid-ne
S gu bheil an t-àm-s a' tighinn uile oii'iin
dlu Sinn gun aithne gun leirsinn Mar an leananiaid fhein ar ceann-iùil Eheir dhuinn fradharc us fòghlum Air na ni'chean tha coir a thoirt dhuinn Cha diau airgiod no oir Xura cuir sinn san Tròcair ar dùil.
air do dhòi''h.
171
EOLAS AN DEIDIDH.
Cliunuaic mi Tàbhart (sic!) 'Siiibhal air beanntaicbcan Nabot A clinei(mli) na 'dheud Guu tui^'se na 'blieul Dhianag leigheas dba 'dheud Acii tha mise ga d' leigheas An amm Mhic Dhe [An t-aiuiii.]
Is e seo an t-eòlas bha aig Iain Macillin- eain ('"An Liib") nach niaireann airson an deididb. Dh'ionnsuich e an t-eòlas seo blio chionn còrr agus ceitiiir fichead bliadhua sa deich blio fhior sheana bhoirionnach aig taobb. Loch Monar, mar a bha e air a chle- achdadh, na 'baraUse, bho làithean an t- Soisgeil. A reir a beachd-sa bha e ri chreid- sinn gu'n do leighis an Slànuighear a chnai(mh). Eha'n diiine seo ainmeil airson casgadh an deididh s bhiodh e 'toir biorain seachad a rachadh a chur san fhiacail. Niiair bha e sireadh a bhiorain bha e ga(bh)- ail an Duain. "Mas e a bhiast tha sa chnai(mh)''" os es "ni mi do leigheas." Sgriobh mi na focail bho Padruig Stiubhart.
Nach b'fhearr leat mi bhi agad Na mac breabadair beo?
Ghar an dianainn dhut fighe Bhiog sithionn mu d'bhòrd.
Gu'm biog fuil an daimh chabraich Euith ri altan do mheòir.
Is e do nighean-sa 'Dhonnchaidh C'huir an truime-cheist mhor òirnn.
Air an d'fhàs an cùl dualach Blio 'g-ualainn gii 'bròg.
Air an d'fhàs an cùl bachlach S a dhreach mar an t-òr.
Cha b'e direadli na bruthaich Cliiiir mo shiubhal gu leòin.
Na teas an la ghreine Gad a dh'eirich i òirun.
Ach ciir us catliadh fodh m'fheusaig- S nach leir dhom mo bliròg.
Dè clia leir dhom nis faisg dhom Fiù bhata na'm dhòrn.
Ged a cheannaich mi'n buideal Cha'n fhaigh mi cuideachd ni òl.
Mur ti? buaichaill an t-seasgaich[?]. Mach 'n am fheasgair mu'n t-Sròin,
Se mo bhuideal gach lodan Se rao chopan mo bhròg.
Se mo thu(bh)ailt mo bhreacan Se na leacau mo bhòrd.
Se mo theagh mor na beanna Se gach cragan s gach scòrr.
Treis air mhucagan fàsaich Treis air fasgadh nan dorn.
Greis air smeòraich dhubh dhriscan S trei3 air bhristeadh nan cnò.
S truagh nach robh mi s tu "ghaolach Ann san aonach 'm bi'n ceo.
Ann am biithag bhig bharraich Gnn bhi mar-rium ach t'fheòil.
173
!Mur hiog niagaircaii bcag leinidh A clieileadli sid òirnn.
Nam faighinn cead na frithu Bho'n Riogb. s bho'ii larl Og.
Gu'm biog* fuil an daimh cliabraich 'Sileadh fala feadh feòir.
O R A N.
Se dbùisgeadh grad a'm' shuain mi
Am bruadar an raoir
Clia cliadal domh acli smuaintean
Bho'n dh'fhuaraicli do chraoidhe
Mo ribhinn og nan dualach
Toir fuatli dhom(h) gun ao(bh)ur
Grad iraich us gabh truas dhiom
Bho'n fhuair thu mo ghaol.
Nach mairg mi thug rao ghaol dhut
Ged thaobhaich thu mi
Nac-h mairg mi thug mo ghaol dhut
S gu faotainn cead dhi
Clia'n eil agam stòras
Oha leòir leat-sa mi
Ach 's theudar dliomh bhi beo
Gar am posadh tu mi.
Gad gheobhainns' na bheil aig Eigh Seòras
Làn stòras us nì
Gad gheobhainn e bho Sheoras
Làn choir air dhomh fhin
Gad b'oighre air an Diùc mi
Mar chriin air an Righ
S tu dhianainn a phùsadh
-.lar diùltadh tu mi.
* biodh.
174
Tha m' aigiie(o^) trom fo eislein Mo chreucbdan ro mhor Mo chridhe cba dian eirigb. Gad dk' eistinii ri ceòl Ma cbuir thu rium do chùlaobh S gn'n dbiùlt tbu dbom do pbò^ Cba toir mi ri mo sbaogbal Mo gbaol do bbean òg.
Tba mi trom fo ghruaimein
S fo gbruaimein iiile tiim
Gaol thoir dba ua gbruagacb
S fuatb tboir dha cbiiin
Ma bheir foar eile bbuam. tbu
Nacb txuagb leat-sa mi
Nacli b' fbeàrr a bbi san uaigbe
Gil la Luan na bbi dbitb.
Mar lilidh tbu gun mborcbuis Gur boidhch' tbu na càcb Le d' cbùl bacblacb bòidbcach Sian òir air gu 'bbhrr Mo gbaol- s' an ribbinn òg A db'fbas combraideacb tlàth S nan gealladh tu mo pbosadh Thiginn beò bbo na bbas.
Tse: —
"A fbleasgaicb òg gabb trtias rium S mi'n cruaidb chas ro mhor Grad imicb air do smuaintean jSTu'm buainear dbom fod Oil* 's leir a bblàth air m' aoduinn Bbi daoundan ri bròn Gus an cuir na saoir mi An caol cbiste bhòrd.
Cba tug mi gaol do db' airgiod S cba tug mi gaol do dli' or Cba tug mi gaol do sliioda S cha mbu thug mi 'skròl
175
Cha tug mi g-aol do dli' fhion-doaTj;' Go lionadh gach stop S ann thuo' mi sjaol dha'n ribliinn Tha daoiiJaii n'lii' choir.
Is coniliairl' bhciriun air oigoar
S cha ghòraichide i
Gun 'shiiil a chur san òg--mhnaoi
Air bhòichead dam bi
Ged labhradh i o-ii ciiiiu riut
Cum dùinte do chndhe
Gu 'm b' fhearr nach d' chuir thu d' £
innt [Niar lùbar Icat i.
[Le MAcCrEACHDAL (MacQuorkadale) a mhuinutir Cinntail].
Mi air ionndrainn a ghaisgich
'Dh' I'halbh shràid Bhaile Chaisteil an tuim
Dh' fhàg sid luasgan air m' aigne(g)
L's iomrall air cadal na h-oidhch';
I\la chailleadh tu, Aonghais
Eheir siu trois air bhi "g ioraradh do ioinn
Gur h-e dh' fhag muladach m' inntinn
r-hi gad shireadh feadh fhritheanuu choill.
Is mòr an t-ionndrainn san dùthaich
Gu'n chailleag am fiiirau deaa òg
Sàr ceannard na fine
Clann ic Mhaolain gad shireadh s tu beò
Iha MacCurrachdal duilich
Eha'n dh' fhalbh thu 'm balloon nan sgiath
Air an astair nach pill thu
Ghabh thu seachad as cionu Loch nan Ian.
Gha(bh) thii 'ratliad a b' àird
Gus a faiceadh tu c'ait a robli 'ghrian
Gur h-e tilleadh a b' fheàrr leat
Niiair dli' fliairich thu gailich nan nial
Cas shiubhal an fhiricli
Is sealgair a g-heòidli air an t-snàmh
Maille ri ianlu us lachdii
B'e do mliiann bhi gf'an caitheamli le d' làmh.
Fiodh do chist bhi ga sliàtliag
S daioin uaisle bhi fasgaij nan dorn
S dii leannan gi\n eiridh
Gus an d' fhuaras ort sgeula bho'n chrò
Bha t' athair ag eigheach
Ri ianlan nan spcur do thoir beò
Is truagh a ghaoil nach robh mise
An ciste chaol nan tri slisu fo 'n fhoid.
Sin labhair an duin' bha gu h-hrd ris : —
Co as a thainig an sonn
Tha'u urrainn mise do jDhaidheag
Bho'n tlia mis' agus m' àrdaich car lorn
Bha mi roimhe ga gearrag
S tha mi nise ga faireadh gu trom
Mii leabaidh air rò-bheag dion oirr'
Fcdh shileag nam miar aig a bonn.
Labhair Aonghus gu svighar
Ma chreiceas lu 'chraobh bitheas tu pàidht
Bha nii fada ga d' shireadh
S chuir thu eis air mo pliiseach gubràch
S mas ait e 'm bheil aoibhneas
Lei gear mis' seal oidhche na t' ait.
^cnghuis ladurn gun nhire
Gu de thug thu 'm' fhàrdaiche riamh
Nur bhiog thu a balair
A chraobh le cuid barrach a bhuain
A chraobh mhaireas gu siorruidh
A's a gheaiach chum fianuis do'n t-sluagh.
177
Ach labhair Aon^lius an gaLg^each : — Cha'n fhhg- niaoidbeag mi gcaltecb an dràòd Cha i^habh ni' iuutinn-s' bonn lapan I bead sa mbaireas mo hatrhng a'm' IhinJi Tbusa "bbodaich tb' air liathaof Us mise na'm' dbiombanacb treun Theid do cbrocbadb ri miar dhi S hi 'cbraobk cbo \io?) mo riaghladb-6a reist.
8in dli' cLi-icb ua siiinu na'n seasajiih
Gu dbul sail eadraig fa leth
Gus na tbòisich an t-sabaid
( lia rolib scauu daiiie 'g aj^airt na reit
Ach nuair thEuruinii e 'gbàirdean
Is aim db' imich. Mac Mbaoilian sna speur
Sid niar sguir tba mi 'm beachd
C^aniia-finid na b-eacbtraidh gu leir.
C U M H A
LK IAIN MAC DHOKILL IC lAIIi BHAIN BO
NIGHEAX AONGHAIS IC EAONILL AN
JEI4ISGA SA BHLIADHNA 1877.
S mi leam fbin air an tulaich
Tha mo smaointean air iomadacli dòijjh
Gad a leiginn ri each e
Cha ttid aon ac' am fabhar mo sgeòil
O'u a thainig am bas
O fear gun liomadh gun fhàbhar ua's mo
'S mis' fbaodadh a ghradbtinn
Gu'n do cbaill mi do mhanran gle òg.
Thug thu Fblòraidh do chùl rium Dh'fhag sin mise gu tùrsach fodh bhròn Chasdh mo cheum ann an truiraeid S mi fo eislein air caochkidh sheòl Dh'fbalbb mo sbunnd s mo dhibhersain Mi gu'n sCigradb gun aighear gun cheòl Eho'n a dh'fhal'cbadh an iiir thu S chaidh smal air an t-siiil nach eil beò.
178
S gu bheil m'inntinne tùrsach
Is trie a' sileadli o m' shiiilean na deoir
Tlia mi sgith ga, cliur seachad
Tha iad daonnan a tachairt am choir
S nacli eil aon air an talamli
"Rig am faod mi mo g-hearain na's mo
O'n tha'n aon te nach mairionn
Air a sineadh sa chlachan fo'n fhòd.
Nach b'e grutlirach na dunach
Nuair thainig i thugainn dha'u tir
Thug i beam as ar cuideachd
'S m.')T an àireamh a bhuinnig i 'u chill
Fear nach d'flialbh le a mhathair
Gu bheil a phiuthar na bhrathair ga dhitb
'Ad na'n sineadh san Tàlann*
Far an lionar ri'n aireamh na suiun.
Bi(dh) mi smaointinn gach la
Air na dh' fhagadh gun tachdsa ri 'linn
Gad nach aithn' dho(;mh)s' uil' ead
Tlia 'ad lionar a' fulang sa' caoidh
Nuair a chluinn'as mi 'm màireach
Maighister Ailean ag- aireamh a' ruinn
Bidh mo chridhe ga fhàsgadh
Gad a thiarainn an t-Ard Riogh mi fhin.
Thainig- galar an taobh-sa
Dh'fhàgas cridheachan brviite gu brach
Ri3 an can sinu a ghruthrach
'S ann a thainig i dhuinne mar phlaigh
Ach gad a tha sinn ag ionndrain
N'eiif a dhith air ar cunntais an drà&J
A Fear thug bhuainn ead ga ionnsuidh
'Se bheir leasachadh dhiiinne n'ar càs.
* -after Father Ilallinan, an Irish Mi; t — na bheil.
179
E A L A I D H.
LE HUISTEAN DONN SIOSAL.
Is ann an TJisdcin tha mùiru nan gruagach Mo chreach smo dhiùbliail ma blieir ead
bhuam tbu An taigh an t-sùgraidb. bi's ead ga t'
ionndrain S gur math do cliliii far am bi na li-naislcan.
Is matb tliig fàbhar fos cionn do ghruaige Osau sghrlaid mu d' chalpa cuimseach Do phaidheir gliarstan s an sioda pailt ann S do bhrògan dathte s cha bhitheag a chuaig orr'.
III. De! cha'n ioghnadli ged bhitheag thud'
ghealtair S tu shliochd nam mor shluagh dha'm bith-
eag am pailteas Taigh Chùldaochail nan daoine gasda, Spuir 'snam bòtan, stròl 's nam bratach.
IV.
A mach a dh'Eirionn nuair dh'eircadh buair-
eadh Bi's tu-sa fhein ann gu treubhach buadhach Le d' chlaidhean geur-lanuach air do
chrnachaiun Is lionar ceud-fhear us ccud a bhuail thu.
V.
Dur thig am Fraugach n nail us frachd
(feachd) aig Gu'u teid High Seòras ga thillcadl; dhach-
aigh Bi's tusa 'n trath sin air cheann brcatallion S gur mor do chail a bhi stigh sa bhaiteal.
180
VI.
Ma oha tliu bluiainne air chuan a Shasniiin Gu ma fallain sunndach a s^heobh tliu'n
t-aiseas: Dheagli blieul na rfuiaclid dli' fliàjj m'ln;!-
tinn tùrsach Gur mor an diùbhail mar pill thu dhacliaidli
VII.
Is iomadh te a thug- speis do shuaircean Le aghaidji bheusach, siiil-eud nan gruagac'i Bidh or na li-Eipbit air guaillu m' eudail S a bhreacan feilidh. mar eideadh guaill air.
IAIN GHLINNE CUAICH.
Ach Iain Ghlinne Cuaicli
Fear do choltais cha dual da fas Do chill bachlach nam buadh
Air a plileatadli mn'n cuairt gu bbarr; Beir an t-soiridh seo bhuam
Dli'ionns' an fbleasgaich is uaisle dreacb Air na bhuilich mi m' gliaol
S a cbuir saigbead an aoig fo m'chneas.
Ghaoil, nach cuimlin' leat an la
A bha sinn san àtli leinn fein Is tu nach dianadh, ghaoil, m' aicheadh
Nam bithinn-s' san am ga d' reir Ach c'uim bhithinn-s' fo ghruaim.
God tha 3ni san uair gun cheill A cliaora bhi slàu
S am madadh bhi Ian d'a reir
Cha tug mise mo speis
Do dli' fhear eil' tha fo'n ghrein ach thi^ S cha toir as do dlieigh
Gus an cairear mi' n ceis tha diiint; Ach Iain s a g!.aoil
Ce mar chuir thu mi faoin air chùl Gun chuimhn' air a ghaol
Thug sinne mar aon an tùs.
ISl
Clia b'c doire s:ini cliii
As na bhiiaincar a fiùran àrd Slat na choille thiugli dhlùth
Air a liibatlli le mios srii lar Is e do phearsa dhcas whrinn
Dha'n tu;j mise mo ofhaol thar cliàc!^ Cha 'u cil cron ort ri inns
O mbullach do chinn gn d' shùil.
Slat dhe'n cbrao'bh a b' aillt
As a gluiradh am bioclh na Ii-eòiu. S cba be inuaidh nan Gall
Dha'n do chrom mi mo cbeaun co mòr Far am biodh 'n t-a(bb)ull fo bblàth
Sa gliaradb am biodh na seoid S cha b'e crionacb nan crann
Dha'n iu^ mise mo ghaol s mi ò^.
Is iomad maisfbdinn gfhlan bg
Thig' le furan a'd' choir air straid Gcd tha m'fhorstau-s' cho cruaidh
S gu'n d' thus; mi dbut hiaidh thar cbacL Ach an trian chitid de d' chliù
Cha chuir mise an ceill an tràths. Gun eòlas as ùr
Gus r.ni fiosraich mi thn ni's fhearr.
B'c miann mo dha shiil Bhi 'coimhead ^u lù a' d' dheii^li S ^i' m b' airidh mo rùin-s'
Air bean-oiffhre a chrùin fo sgeith.
Bha mi iiair s cha do sliaoil
Gu'ni bithinn cho faoin mi fein S gu'n tuq-ainn mo ghaol
Do dh'fhear a choimhdeadh cho faoin a'm' dheigh. Ach 'se bens do gach aon
De mhnathan an t-saoghail gii leir Bhi ga 'm mealladh araon
Lc sgeulachdan faoin a beul.
182
Cha d'thug' mise mo ghaol
Air dliòigh s g'u'm faod mi clileth C'ha b'e'n giullan boclid truaf^li
Ris na tharruinn mi suas mar fliear; Acli an t-òigear deas ùr
Cas a dhireadh nan stùc-bheaun bras, rihianadh fuil air an driùchd
Leis a ghunua nacli diiilt an t-srad.
Ach Iain a ghaoil
Nack truagk leat mi mar a tha Liuthad la agus uair
Chuir thu'n ceill gu'm bu bliiian do g-liràdb Ma rinn mi ni suarack
No ma ckoisinn mi t'fkuatk no t'fkearg Mo bkeannackd ad dkeigk
Fiack an gleidk tku dkut feiu ni's fkeàrr.
Nis imiek tkiisa mar 's àill
Dk'ionns an te dha'm bell griidk agad ikein Ack mas e mise ta'n dan
Cka'n fhaigk teile gu brack mo bkreid S ce mar bkitkiun fo bkròn
S a liutkad fear òg as mo dkeigk Nack cunntadk au t-or
"Ckur a ckeaunack mo bkròg gu feill.
Ma dk'fkaoidte nack buin an ceatkramh a leanas do'n amkran seo do bkrigk s nacb ann air au aou dòigk a tka aig caoclilaidk cranaicke. Cka'n eii e soirbk r'a fkaiciun de'n cearb ckomkckeongal tka aig aa sreatkau a leanas ris a ckuid a cka roinik —
C'ha b'e diitkckas mo luaidk-s'
Bki sa uikonadk ri cuallack bkò Ack bki'n ceardaick a "-kuail
Ag eisneackd ri fuaim nan òrd; Bu tu'n Tomasanack glan
Bka ainmeil mear ann san rod S ce b'e ckuireadk ort fearg
Bkiodk do ckopan dkaibk searbk ri òl.
TAISBEAN ADHAMHNAIN.
Air atbarracbadli o'n t-Roann Ghàidhlio' a reir "LeabKar na h-Uidhrc" a chaidh rt sgriobhadh mu tiiimcbioll 1100 de aois ar Tigliearna. iVcli tba mi 'meas "Ti'n deacb- aidh "FÌB Adamnàin" (faic Windisck: Iriscbe Texte, Leipzig, 1880, taobb duillei? 167) mar a db'aiumicbear an taisbean sco o shean, a cbur air a ballaibh còrr agus 200 bliadbna roimb 'n am sin.
Is uasal agns is òirdbearc Coimbdbe nau Dul agxis is nior acfus is miorbhuilecb a neait agus a cliumliacbda. Is seimh agua is tlath is trocaireacb agus truacanta e. Cuiridb e cbuig-e fein do cbum neimh lucbd na deirce agus na tròcaire, lucbd an tlaitbs agus lucnJ. na baigh.; ach ni e coimbtbional eucràbbach eularbbacb na(m) mac mollacbd a tbabbairt agus a tbilgeil a cbum ifCrinn. Ebeir e dioi- tbuarasdail dbionibair agus eugsamblaneijuii dboibh-san a ta beaunuicbte agus bbeir e iomadach pian eugsambuil do mbacaibu bàis.
Nise de naombaibb agus d'fbireanaibb Dbia nan Dul agus d'apstolaibb agus dos- ciplibb losa Criosd, is liutbadacb neacb do'u d'fboillsicbeadb riiinte agns diombantsa riogbacbd neimb fo'n ebuma sin .'<gus duaisean ro-òirdbearc nam firean agiis fòs d'an d'fboillsicbeadb piantan eusrsambla ifrinn maille riusan a ta unnta. Db' fhoillsicbeadh do riribb do Pbeadair Absloil an soitbeacb ceitbir-oisinncacb a leigeadli a nios o ]ièamb agiis ceitbir chuird ris, bu mbilse na bbi ag eisneacbd gacb scorsa ciùil. Gblacadb suas an t-abstol Pol cuideacbd gr.s an treas neamb gus an cual e briatbran dc^ labbairt nan aingeal agus iom-agallaimh oirdbearc muiuntir neimb. Tbugadb fòs ua h-abstoil uile an la 'tbeasd Muire (eadbon la a deas-gbabbail) gus am fac iad piantan agus ]>eanasan truagba nan daoine mi-
1S4
slmaimlnicch iiuair a dli'agfair an Coimhdhj air ainglibh au fhninid (e. àirde luighe na greine) au talamli fliosgladh roimh iia li-apstoil cliuni s jfu'm faiccadli iad s gii'y.\ meo(mh)raiclieadh iad air ifrinn le 'ioniadli pliiantaibli, amlmil mar g^^heall e feiu doibh au ni sin re cian roinili 'u deachaidh a clxeusadh.
Dli' flioillsiclieadh ma ta fo dlièoidh a dli' A(dh)a(mh)nau O' Thinuc, a dh' ard fh.^av- eagnaidli an domhaiu sbiar, an ui a chuiroai- SÌ08 an so, au uair a dh'flialbh 'anam as a chorp air la feill Eoin Baist, an trath rugaiih leis e fhum Pliarais Ic a li-ainjjlibh 's a dli' Ift'rina ie a j^fraisg-shluagli. An tràlh sca^- a;i t-auam ria a chorp, leig a h-aiugeal cloimliideachd, an cein bha i sa choluinu c fein ris di air tall s tliug e leis i air thus a dh' fhaicinn riglieaclid nèimh.
Is e a cliiad tir gus an d'rainig iad, lir nan naomh. Tir mlieasach sliolusda mata a^i tir sin. Còisirean eugsamhla iongantach inte le còmhdaicliibli de lin goal umpa. le curraclidaibh gle orheal os an cinn. Naoimli an domhain-slioir na'n còisir air leth au taobli an ear tbir' nan naomh. Naoimh an comhaiu-shiar an taobh au iar na tire ccudna. Kaoimh taoibh tuath agus taoibh dcas S'li domhaiu na'n da chòisir deara-mòr, deas agus tuath. Gach aon, cuidcachd, a ta au tir uan uaomh, is comh-fhogus da eisteachd a chiùil agus beachd-smuaiueachadh air au t-soitheach aun sa bheil uaoi gràda nèimli do rèir an cor agus an iubh.
Mu dheighinn nan naomh, aon uair tha iad a' seiuu ceol ard-uasal a' nioladh Dhe, uar eile tha iad fo shochd ag eisteachd ri ceol nniiuutir neimh oir cha ruig na naoima a leas ni eile ach eisteachd ris a chcòl a la iad a' cluiuntiuu agus mco(mh)areachduini; air au t-soillse a ta iad a' faicinu agus iad fein a slihsachadh dhe'n deagh bholtrachas a ta san tir. A ta flath ro òirdheai-c guuis ri gnùis dhaibh soir-dheas bhuatha agus
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sgfàil glainidh eatorru ajriis for-dlionis òrdh.i, gu dcds dha. Is aiin trìd-sa cliithcar dealbn asjus eadar-dhcalachadh muinntir nciml!. Clia'n cil sr>àil no doillearachadli sam bitu «adar nmiiiiitir iièimli aqfus iia naoimh acli ata iad ara foUais apjus ara fochair dhaibh :ui leth riu do glinàth. Cearcull teinnteach mu'n tìr &in mu'ii cuairt agns gach neacli a dol ann is as gun urchoid air bith.
An dà apstal dliiajif a?iis Muire òo^-ingeu na còisir os leth mu'n Choimhdhe chunih- acLdach. Na priomh-athraichean ag.is
fàidhean agus descipiiil losa ara fagus do na apstalaibh. Tlia òighcan naomh' eile c;ir deas laimh Mlioire agus rè nach. cian eatorru. Naoidhcanuan. agus leanabannan mu'n cuaiit daibb. air gach àird ag-us ceòl ianlaitli mbuinntir nèimh ga'n airfeideadb. Buidhne àna de ainglibb-coimbid uan anmannan ag umblacbd agns a' frithealadb eadar na còis- irean sin ara fianuis an rigb do gbnatb. Cha cbomasach neach sara bitb ta làthair tuair- isgeul no innseadb mu na còisirean sin a ta an tìr nan naomb, ambuil mar a tbubbaul sinn, ta iad bitb-mbairionacb sa mbor-gbloir sin gu mòr-dliiàil la bbràtba gii'n cuir am britbeamh fireannacb n'an òrdugb iad air 1;\ a bbreatbanais sna h-inbbibb agus ann sna li-ionadaibb am bi iad a' faicsinn gnùis Dhè gun bbrat gun sgail eatorru tre linn nan litin.
Ce mor ma ta agus ce adbbbal an taitimieas agus an t-soillse a ta an tir nan naomb, ambuil mar a tbubbairt sinn, is mo fo mhil uair an loinnearacbas a ta am magb muinntire noimb mu rigb-sbuidbe a Choimbdbe fein. Is amblaidb a ta an rigb-sbuidlie sin na chatbair cbòmbdaichte le ceitbir colbbaibb de leugaibb luachmboir foi. Ce nach biodli Dia ta a db' oirfeid aig neacb acb comU- cbeòlmboireacbd co-cbuimte na(n) ceithir cbolbb sin, bu leoir do gblòir agus d'aoibn- neas da è. Tri coin eireacbdail ann sa
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cbathair ami) fianuis an risfli an^iis a' memno. air an crnithear g-u bitheanta; is e sin an dim. Ta iud a' coimhead nan cchd tràtli n' inoladh agus aij àidacliadh a' Clioimlidhe j> co-sheirm nan ard-aingeal a' teaclid fòdbii. O na li-enail)'a a:;n3 o na li-àrd-ain,o;lilii)li tionnsgain a cuiùil atfus muinntir ninmh iiile eadar naoimh agus ban-naoimh iar sin ga'm fraagradh.
Stiiag-ii deàra-mlior os cinn an Uile- chumliachdaich na chathair riglieil cleas clogaid groidliichte no mionn rigli. Kam faiceadh roisc dliaonna e leaghadh iad aa sa clieart uair. Tri criosan niu thimchioll air eatar na li-ainglibli agus an sluagli agus clia'n fhios le tuairisgenl ciod a ta annta. Sia mile de mliiltibh le dealbhaibli each agus ian air lasadh mu'n chatliair theinn- teacli gun cheann gun chrich.
Cha tig e do neach sam bitli bhi 'faisneis niu'n Choirahdlie chumhaclidach a ta sau rigli-cliathair sin mur dian e fein innseadh no mur labhair e ri gràdaibh (inbliibh) nèimh. Oir cha'n iiuiis neach a 'bhruth no a bhrigh, a dheirge no a rò-shoillearachd a òirdhcarcas agus a aoibhneas, a sheirce agus a sheasmliachd, 'iomadh aingeal agus ard-aingeal a' cantuinn cliiùil dhò — co ro liuthad de theachdairean chuige agus bhuaith le freagairibxi ro ghearr do gach buidheann fa leth — a mhine agus a ro- chiùinealachd ri feadhainn, a ain-mhine agus a ghairge li luchd eile diubh.
Nam biodh neach ga shior-fhaicinn, a dearcadh mu'n cuairt air, an ear agus an iar, a deas agus a tuath, gheobhadh e air gach taobh de aghaidh eireachdail, seachd uair na's soilleire na ' ghrian ; gu deimhin cha'n fhaiceadh e dealbh duine air, 'cheann no' chas, ach na 'neul thcinnteach a' lasadh tre'n chruinne, gach neach air chrith agus air uanihunn roimhe. Is loma-lan de 'shoillse
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neamh agiis talauili agu3 rutliadh cleas solus rigli timcliioU da air fad. Tri mile fonn blio gacli coisircliiiiil a ta a' co-sheirm uime agiis gacli aon clieòl dhiubli air leth na's binne iia iiile cheùl au domliaiu.
Agus fùs a cliathair ann sa bheil an righ- shuidke sin, is amhluidh a ta agiis seachd mùir glainidlie le dathaibh eugsamhlaibh na 'tiomcliioll. Is airde gacli aona mhùir na'n flieai- eile. Bràigli agus fior bhonn iochdarach na cathrach de ghlaine ghil air li na greine le breacadh de ghonn agus uaiu agus corcur s gacli dath eile.
Muinntir bhlath mbin cbiùin gun eas- bhuidh maitheas sam bith orra, 's ann aca tiia aitreabh sa cliathair sin. Oir clia ruig agus clia tliog aitreabh do glmàth innte ach lan- naoimh agus eilthirich durachdach do Dliia. Agus fòs an eagar agus an òrdugh is duilich tìos fliaotainn cionnus a thachair iad oir clia'n eil druim ncach dhiubli no a shlios ri neach eile. Oir is amhlaidh a chairich. cumhachd do-labhairt a choimdhe iad agus rinn an coimhead, gnùis ri gniiis na'n sretli- aibh agus na'n coronaibh co-àrda timchioll an righ-shuidhe inu'n cuairt le òirdhearcas agus le aoibhneas agus an aghaidh nile ri Dia. Crann-caingil (chancel-rail) de ghlaine eadar gach da shreath de'n luchd-ciùil le còmhdach deàrsgnaidh dearg-òir agus airgid air le srethaibh ro aluinn de leugaibh luach- mhor agus le breacadh de usgraichibh eugsamhail agus le cathairibh agus le coronaibh carrmocail (carbuncle) air na cruinn-caiugil sin. Tri leugan luachmhoir le foghair binn agus le binuid chiùil eadar gach da phriomh-chòisir agus an leth-an- uachdar aca cleas lòchrannan air lassadh. Seachd mile aingeal an dealbhaibh phriomh- chainuel a' soillseachadh agus a' sorchach- adh na cathrach mu'n cuairt, seachd mile eile na' ceart mhiadhon a' sior lassadh mu'n chathair rioghail. Ged bhiodh fir an
domhain, ge lionmlioir iad, an aon aite dli'fhòorhnadli dliaibh mar bbiadli boltraclias o cbeann aon-cliaiunl' de na cainnlibli sin.
Do neach, mata, de dhaoinibh an domhain nack ruig a chathair sin as am beatba agus <la'm bheil e'n dan a b-aitreabh iar breith- €amhnas la bliràtlia, is annta so a ta iad air t'uadan, gun fhois agiis air udmliall — an daingneacliaibh atjiis an cnocaibh, an seas- •gannaibli agus am boglaicliibh rotach an aitreabhan— gus — an lig cbuca bratli.
Is amhlaidh ta ata na slòigli sin agus na còisirean, agus aiugeal coimliideachd gach aon anma tha uimta ag umhlachd agus a fritliealadh di. Fial teine agus fial d' eigh. am prionib-dhorus na cathracli na'm fiadh- nuise agus siad a' comli-tliuargain cinn ar rhinn gu sior. Fogbar agus fviaim na fial sin a' bualadk an agbaidh a cheile, cluinnear iad air feadh a chruinne. Nan chiinneadh sioi Adhaimh am foghar sin, ghabhadh iad uile crith agus uamhunn do-fhuiliugte roimke. Is tùrsack mata agus is buairte na peacaich aig an fkogkar sin. Gidkeadh, Mas ann air an taobli a ta ri muinntir nèimk a ta e, cha ckluinner a reisd de'n gkarbk tkorrunn sin ack a làn-bbeag a muàin agus is binne e na gack ceol a chualas.
Is adlibkal a reisd, agus is iogknadk ri 'innseadk, stxidkeackadk na catkrack sin, oir is beag de mkor an ni a dk' innis sinn de 'k-òrdaibk evigsamklaibk agus de a k-iongantasaibk.
Is ainneamk mata leis an anam, iar fommuna agus comk-ckuidea- hd na coln.i. iiiaille ri a suan agus ri a sclas agus ri a saou'se agtis ri a soiglineas dul a dk' ioiinsuidk rigk-skuidke a Chruitkear, mur tig i ann tre iùl aingeal, oir is duilick, dreim na seackd neamk, oir cka'n fkassa aon dmbh na ckeile. Oir a ta sia dorais gkleidkidk air cinn a ckinnn-daonna gu ruige an riogkackd.
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^'limdhi.'ìioadli cuideachd dorsair agfiis loar- laire o iiiluiiuiitir nèiiiili a choimliead Gfack dorus diubli. An dorus matà is fhais.-T^a co uoamli is air a shiiidliiclicadh Minii uù ard- aiuG^cal a?U3 dithis bhan-naoimli na fbarradli lc lìcasg'aibh iaruinn na'n uchdaibli a shrogl-all agus a shluaistreadh nam I'.eacajih air cLor s guv li-anii an sin a ta n.i peacaich a 'coinneachadh i-i ciad ghliobh- aig agus ri (-iad cheusadli an send (sliglie) agus an siubhail.
Agus 1ÒS air dorus an dara nèimh is c Ariel àrd-aingeal is fear-coimhead dhò agus Jà òigli na 'fbairadh le sroghallaibh ieinn- tcach na'n làiiiliaibli; is leo sin a ta iad a' srogladli nam peacach tar an gniiisibb ag^is tar an roscaibh. Do sbuidhicbcadh niatà sru'.li tcinnteacb, le m6r-la.«sair air, am fianuis an doruia siu. Abersetus ainra a'ngil glileidliidh an t-srutha sin a dhearblias agus a nigheas anniannan nan naonih de'n cbud- trora chionta a ta 'leantuinn riutha gu'n oinn iad cho glan agus cho soiileir ri reul loinn- oarach Sbuidhiclieadli rcisd an sin tobair taitiuneach le blàth agus boltrachas a glila,nadh agus a dh'fhairigeadh annian nam fireau. Greadaidh agus loisgidli e anmannan nam peacach s cha toir e ni sam bitb dhiùbb ach is tuilleadli peine agus peanas a thig g'an ionnr.uilbc ann. Eiridb a reisd as a sin i-a peacaick le bròn agus le dubhacbas deiira- mor, na fireannan gidheadii le subhachas agus m.ir-f !iaoilt gu dorus an treas nèimli,
Sòrn teinnteach matà a' lassadh do ghnàth an sin. D\ mliile dbiag làrah-choillp, fhead sa ruig.'as a lassair an àirds. Am prioba:lh man sul thig anmannan nam firean tre'n t-sòin £in. Eararaidh agus loisgidh e anm- annan nam peacach gu ceaun da bhliadhna dbiag. Bbei) an aingeal choimhoadachdia^i iarsin gus an ceatbramh dorus. Is amhlaidh a ta ard-dliorus a cbeathramh ueimb agus sruth teinnteach timchioU air
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•cleas an stm'n icimh-radhte. Ta inùr air lassadh timchioll da, liad a tlieine air a thombas, suas ri da mhile dliiag làmli clioille. Theid anmannan nam firean tliairis mir nach biodli e anu idir agus fasdaidhidh e anmannan nym peacacli suas ri da brliadhna dhiag' an truaighe agus am peanas gus an toir an aingeal choimbideachd iad gu dorus a choigeamh nèimh.
Snitli teinnteacli fòs an sin cuideacbd ach is eucosmhiiil e ris an t-srutb eile oir a ta saobh-choire àraid am miadlion an t-sruttit f^in agus cairigidb e mu'n cuairt anmannan nam peacach agus fasdaidh e iad gu ceann sia bliadhna diag. Gidheadh theid na fire- annan thairis air a dli'aon sgriob gun fuir- each sam bith. An uair is mithich, matà, anmannan nam peacacli fhuasgladb as, ni an t-aingeal beantuinn ris an t-sruth le fleasg cruaidii co-ionnan ri cloich gus an dian e na h-anmannan a thogail suas air ccann an fhleasg. Blieir Micliel iarsin na li-anman — ■ nan gu dorus an t-siatbaimh neimh. Gidh- eadh cha'n eil e air aithris gu'm bheil pian no peanas air an cur air na h-aiimannan san dorus sin ach soilleirichear iad o shoillse agus o thoillsgc leug luachmhor. Theid Afichel na dheigh sin gu aingeal na Trianaide »gus taisbianaidk iad na'ii ditbis an t-anani am fiinuis Dhe.
Is adhbhal, raata, agus is do-luaidbte laoilte muir-ntire neimh agus a Choinihdhe foil! ris an ana -n an uair sin mas anam --leo- chiontach fireanta i. Ach mas an-fhri- oanta agus mas an-fhoirfidh an t-anam, gheobh i anamainnt agus anshocair o'li ClioiTidhe cbnmbachdach. Agus abraidh e ri aingliu neimh. Tarruingibh libh, a aingliu neimh, an t-anam eucrabuach-sa agus ■tboirib'i a laimh Lucifer i da a bathadh agus da miichadh am fo-dhomhain iffrinn i p^u fiuthainii sicr.
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Is anil an sin a sprairear an t-anam truagh sin <rn h-ea»allach as^us gu searbh asriis gu li-uamhunnach o fhochair Hatha neimhe a^fus sinuis' Dhe. Is nnn an sin a leigcas i aisde an osann is truinie na gach osna a' teat-hd aui focliair an diabliail an deigliidh aoibliu- easan righeachd nèinih fhaicsinn. Is ann a sgauear i o ehomraig nan ard-aingeal ieis ;in d' thainig i do cbura ncimh. Is ann ifu sin a slilugas na da dbitigoin-tbeine dhia? gaili auai'i an d'eis a cheile gus an cuir an aiàgon is iochdaraicbe i am bial an diablio.l. Is ann an sin a gheobli i lanachd gacha h-uilc am fochair an diabhoil tre linntinibh na bitii-bhuanutachd.
Xise an uair a dh'fhoillsich an aingcal cboimhideachd do anam Adhambnain na taisbeanaidhean-sa fhlaitbeas nèimh agus f iad-imeachda gacha b-anma iar tcachd as a chorp. rug e Ieis i iarsin dh'ionnsuidh iffrinu irchdaraich le iomad a piau agus a riasladh agus a era lad.
A chiad tir gus an d'rhinig e, tir dbubh òhòtbte, i falamh faloisgte gun pliLan idir.
Gle^nii Ian de theine an taobh-sa dhi. Lassar deàra-rahòir ann a' tighinn thar na h-c'irean aige air gach leth. A lochdar dubh, a nibiadhon agus a uachdar dearg. Ochd biastan ann, an sùilean mar bhreò theinii- teacli.
Drochaid deàra-nihor tarsuinn an gloann; a' ruighinn on aon oir gus an oir eile, àrd na' miadhon, iosal san da cheann. Tri feachd. ag oidliearpachadh air teachd thairis agus cha ruig iad uile. Feachd dhiubh, is Icathanu doibk an drochaid o thus gu deir- eaùh, air chor s gun tig gu h-òg-elàn gun uainhunn gun oagal thairis air a ghleann teinnteach. Feachd cile a' tighinu ga h-iontisuidh, caol daibh air thus i ach leathan fo dheoidh, gu'n ruig iad mar sin tarsuinn an gleann iar nior-ghiibhadh. Am feachd deiriomiach is leathann doibh aii-
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thus an drocliaid, caol agus ciimliang fo dheòidh, gus an tuit iad de a miadhon sa ghleann ghàbliaidh clieudna am bràghadaibli nan ochd bliiast blireò-theinnteach ud aig am blieil an aitreabh ann sa ghleann.
Is iad so liichd d'am bu shoirbh an send (e. slighe) sin, muinntir gheamnuidh, muinntir Ian aithreach, dearg-mhartuirean diirachdacli do Dhia. A bhnidheann J'am bu ohnmhang air thiis agus d'am bu leath- ann an t-slighe fo dTieòidh, is iad sin dream a ta air an co-eigneachadh chum toil Dhe a dhianamh s na I^rg sin a ta 'tionndainn an eiginn gu toiUnntinneas ann a bhi tabhairi; fòghnadh do Dhia. Ach dhaibh-san d'am bu lovitban air thus an drochaid agus d'arn bu .ihnmhang i fo dheòidh, is iad na jDcac- aicli a dh'eisdeas ri searmonachadh briathar Dhe agus nach coimhlion e an deigh a chlàistinn.
Ata slòigh ro-mhora cuideachd arm an di- chumhachd air tràigh na pene suthaine air an taobh bhos de thir-eadar-dha-sholus. Aon uair tràighidh am pian dhiubh, air uair eile thig e thairis orra. ladsan mata d'am bheil e mar sin is iad luchd d'an comhthrom am maith agus an ole. Agus an la a bhratha breith'iichear eatarru agus bàthaidh am maith an olc ann san la sin agus beirear iad do phort a bheatha am fochair Dhe gu i«iach.
Ata dream mhor eile cuideachd ann, am. fagus do'n luchd sin agus is adhbhal a pian. Is amhlaidh mata a tha iad, fo chùmhrach ri colbh teinnteach, muir tlicine umpa gu ruige an smige, slabhraidhcan teinnteach m'am miadhon air dhealbh nathrach. Ta'n gniiiseau a' lassadh os cionn a phein. Is iad mata a ta sa phian sin, peacaich agus fionnghalaich agus luchd milleadh eaglaise Dhe agus rianadairean eutròcaii'each a ta an làthair tàisealan nan naomh os cionn thiodii lacan agus dheachamh na h-eaglais agus a
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111 dc iia h-ionnihasaibh scilbh sonniiclite dbaibh fhein seach dha aoighibh af^us ainn- iacacliaibh a Choimhdho.
Seadh, a ta slòio-h mor aim iia'n scasa-nh do o-hnath an Uithachaibh ciar-dhubh sfu riiige a ciiosa. Cochuill ghearra cigh iimpi. Clia'n fliois agus clia tàmh dhaibh. gn brich acli na criosan g'ati losgadh eadar fuachc» agviG teas. Fcachdrai dlioamliau timchioll dhaibh agus pluic t.luùuntcach na'ii làmhaibh g am bualadh air an cinu, agus siad a' sioi- thagradh riu. Uil' aghaidhean nan truaghan. gn tuath agu3 gaoth gharbh ghoirt an clài an aodtiinn mar aon ri gach olc. Frasa dearga toiunteach ag fcarthuinn orra gach oidhche agus gach la agus cha'n urrainn daibh an seachnadh ach a' fulang gu siorr- uidh ag caoi agus an dòruiun. Feadhainn dliitibh agus sruthau teine an tollaibh an gnùise; cuid eile agus cloidheannau teine tre'u teanghaibh, cuid dhiubh tre'n cmn o'u taobh a muigh. Is lad mata a ta sa phian sin, eadhon gaduichean agus luchd-mionnan- eithich, luchd-brath agus luchd-toibheum, liichd-slad agus luchd-creach, bnthimli go — blireathach agus rauinntir chonnspoideach, mnathan nan ubagan agus eisgean, luchd- dioghaltais agus luchd-leughaidh a shear- monaicheas eiriccachd. Ata drong mhor eile ann an innsibh ain miadhou mara tene. Mùr airgideach umpa de'n aodaicbibh agus de'n deireibh. Is iad sin foireann a ni tròc- air gun deaimad agus gidlieadh a bhios le striau-thuainic annta a'm peacaidhibh ccll- aidh gu crich am bùis agus ni na rinn iad air almsadh cobiiair orra am miadhon na niara theine gu brack agus cuirear iad o phort na beatha iar la 'bhràtha.
Tha buidhcannan mor eile ann agus cleòcachan dearga t«inuteaeh gu liir umpa. Chiinnear an crith agus an gair air feadh au iarmailt. Drong di-sgrùidte de dheamhn- aibh 'toir giug-thachdaidh dhaibh agus com
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Ibreiina letli-amli leotlia na'n lamliaibh • iad a' toil- furail air na peacaioh an ith agus an caitheamh. Eotlia dearfja teinntea ■'!: a' sior-lassadh m'am bràghadaibh. Beirear suas iad gnis an iarmailt gach caochladh tiair, tilg^ear sios iad am fior-dhoimhneachd iuthairn uair eile. Is? iad mata a ta sa pliian flin. vloiricli a hhrist air an cùmhlaiaean agus fuatb-chrhibhtich aj^ns briaofadairean a dh'innseas briao^ agus 'mheallas na slòig'h agua a !yliabhas orra fhein fearta agns miorbhuilean nach urrainn iad a dhiananh daibh. Na naoidheannan a ta 'teumadh nan cleireaoh, is iad sin an luchd a chaidh earbadh riu a leasachadh a:^us cba do leasaich siad iad niu'm pfacaidhibh.
Ata dream dcara-mhor eile ann soir is fciar dhaibh gnn stad daibh thar na leacaibh tcinutaacli a,^ cathachadh ri feachdaibh nan deambnan. Is Uonmbor ri àireamh frassa nan saiphead a' dearg-lassadh dhoibh o na deamlmaibb. Tba iad a' teacbd na'n ruith gun fbantumn ^n fhois g^ns an rnig iad dubh-locba agus dubb-aibhne a bbàtliadh nan f-aighead sin annta. Is trioblaidea-:;li agua is trua,gb a gbair agus 'gbal-ghàir a ni na peacaicb ann sna uisgibb sin oir is truimidod pene a ta annta dboibb. Seadh, is iad a ta sa pbian sin, luchd-eeàird agus figbeadairean agus ceannaichean easionraic, britbimb "-ò-breitheacb nan Iiidba«h agua gacb cimieacb eile agus rigbrean eucràibh- teaob, riauadairean claon a ta collaidb. mnatban adbaltracb agus teacbdairean a jnhillaaa iad na'm mi-ghniombraibh. Ta mùr teine cuideacbd air an taobb tball do tbir nam pian; is seacbd uair is uambas- aiebe ague is seirbbe e na tir nam pian tein. Acb cba'n eil anmannan ag còmbnuidb aun gus a' bbreitbeanas oir la le deambnaibh na'n aonar a riagbladb gu la bbrlxtba.
Is mairg mata a ta sna pianaibb sin an comh-aitreabh muinntir' an diabbuil. Is
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mairo^ nacli eil na'm faichill romh "n mlminntir sin. Is mairof d'am '• idh jia lliÌE^heariia dcamhan dìobliarj^ach musach. Is maii-tr a bhios ag- èisteachd ri osnadh a.e:tis ri o^al-gfhàire nan anmanann an truai^he at^ jjearain ris a choimlidhe mu theaclid chuca lixtha bhràtha ^n luatli, inas e s ma dh'- ihaoidte ?u"m faigli iad fionnaracbadL sani. bith sa bhreathanas oir cha'n fhaigh iad foie •i^ii là bhratha ach. trì uairean gacli dòmhnacli. Is mairsf d'am bn dhìiclias dileas am feaiann sin gu brhcb ! oir is amblaidh a ta: Sleibbtean tolltacb dealgnach ann agns fòa niaghau loma 8 iad loisgteach agus lochan breuna biastaidhc. Talamh g-arbh
gaininbcch s e anabarracb mì-chòmhnard làu t-igh. Leacan leatbann teinteach air a l;;r. Mara mora le onfbadhaibb uaniharraidh sani bidb aite-còmhnuidh agus aitreabh nan diabhul do g-bnàth. Ceithir sruthan deara- niòr thar a làr; sruth teine, sruth sneachda, srutli neimbe, sruth uisge dnbha dorchaidh. Is annta ain a dh'fbairigeas feacbd dìobh- argach nan deamhan iad fèin an deighidh an còmh-dbail agus an cleasaclid a' pianadh nan anmannan.
An sin niiair thogas slòigh naomha niuinntir' nèimh' ceòl comh-chubhaidli nan ochd tràth gu subhach agus gu furmailteach a' moladh a' Choimbdhe, is ann an ''in bheir na h-anmannan nualla truagha tùirseach air dhaibh bUi air an tuairgneadh gun tàruh le dr>:)ngaibh nan deambau. Is iad sin mata na piantan agus na peanasan a dh'fboillsicli an aingeal cboimhideachd do db'anam Adh- amlinain iar tadhall riogbacbd neimh.
Tbugadb an sin an t-aiiam am priobadh sbtil tre'n ard-dborua òrdha agus tre'n roinn sgixil gblainidhe gu tir nan naomh ; is innto tbugadb i a cbeud uair iar di dealacbadh ri8 a cborp. Nuair gbabh i miann mata aJr fantuiun agus air fairis san tir sin cbuala i na' deigbidb tre'n roinn-sgàil guth an aingil
196
a' cur mar cliorrachd oirre i 'tliigbinn air a li-ais a rithist gus a chorp chianda as an d'flialbh i, a chum gn'n innseadh i an dailibh a.gns an coimhthionalaibh neo-chleireacb. is cbleir duaisean nèimhe agus piantan iffrini mar dli'flioillsich an aiugeal clioimliideachd di.
Is (» sin matà am foircheadal a b'abliaist do dh' xidliarahnain a bhi gnathachadh do na slòigh o sin a mach, fhead s a ^ha e na bheatba. Seadh is e sin an ni a sliearmon- uich e am mor dhàil fir Erenn an uair a chaidh reachd Adhamhnain a chur air na Ghidheil agus an uair a cliaidh na mnatlian a shaoradli [o blii 'dul do cliogadh] le Adh- amlinau agus le Finnachta Flpadliach rign Erenn, agus le mathaibii Erenn cuideachd. Sftadh is e a chiad-sgial a ghnàthaicli Pat- raic mac Calpuirn am bidheantas, sochairean nèimhe agus piantan iftrinn innseadh do'n fheadhainn a chreideadh sa Choimhdhe trid 'fhoircheadal agus a shealbhaich an anam- chairdeaa troimh-sa aig- eirigh an t-soisgeil. Is e iòs foircheadal bu mhinige thug Peadar agus Pol agus na h-abstail eile seachad, eadhon, piantan agus sochairean a chur an geill, oir dh'fhoillsicheadh dhoibh eat fo'n chuma chianda. Is e sin a rinn Silvester aba 'n Uoirah do Chonstaiitin mac Elena, ard-righ an domhain aJin san mhor-dhhil an uair a dh'iobair e an Ròimh do Phòl Agus do Pheadar. Is e seo cuideachd rinn Fabian comharba Pheadair do dh' Phihp ma« Gor- dian rlgh Eòmanach an uair a chreid e an Coimhdhe agus nuair a chreid ioma mile eile san itm sin. Is esan a chiad righ de na Rùmanaich a chreid ann san t-Slanuighfhear losa Cr^osd.
Is e seo an sgial is gnathach le Eli inns- eadh do anmannaibli nam firean agus se fo chrann na beatha am Parana. An uair a <lh' fhosgaileas Eli an leabhar a dh' fhoircheadal nan anmannan, thig anmaunan nam fiieau
197
an s.in au rioclidaibh ian gfle-glieal chin^e o gacU àird. An sin innsidh e dbaibli air thiis soL-bairean nam firean, aoibhneas a^us àluiniitoachd rìo;heachd nèimh s tha iad ro fliaoillteach re sin. larsin innsidh e dbaibh piantan as:us pcanasau iiJrinn agiis earalan la bhratha acjus is folbviseach gn mor ^nè a a bhròin air fein agiis air Enoch 'chor s ;^ur iad seo da bhròn rif^heachd nèimh. larsin dùinidh Eli an Icabhar ajus bheir na h-eòin nuall-gfhàir an iiair sin agns deasaichidh iad au 't^asfan gn tcann r'an ciiirp gii'n lig srutha fala asda air omhann phiantan iffrinn agus la bhratha.
Nis o 'siad anmannan nan naonih, d'an dan sior-aitreabh righeachd nèimh, a tha 'togail an nuall-ehàir sin bn mhithiche do dliaoinibh an domhain, ged a b iad deòir fliola a sliileadh iad iar doibh aire bhi aca air la bhratha agus joiantan iffrinn. Is aun an sin a dh' iocas an Coimhdhe a thuarasdal fein do gach duine san domhain, eadhon sochairean do na firean- aibh agus piantan do na peacaich. An 6Ìn cuiridh e na peacaich ann an ro-dhoimhneachd jjene shuthain air an iadh glas briathar Dhe fo fhuath britheamh a bhratha tre linn nan Unn. Bheirear cuideachd na naoimh s na fireannau, luclid na deirce a<?u8 na tròcaire air deas laimh Dhe a bhith-aitreabh righeachd nèimh, eadhon, ait sam bidh ead sa mhòr- ghlòir sin gun aois gun chrionadh gun cheann gun chrich tre linn nan linn.
Is amhluidh mata a ta 'chathair sin, flaitheas gun uaill, gun uabhar, gun ghò, gun thoibheum, gun cliealg, gun chuilbheart, gun ruic, gun ruarais, gun mkiabalachd, gun mhealltaireachd, gun tnùtli, gun mhòr-chuis, gun theinu, gun ghalar, gun bliochdain, gun nochdainn, gun dhith, gun dhiobhail, gun chlach-mheallain, gun sneachda, grui ghaoth, gun fhliuchadh, --un thoirm, gun thorrunn, gun dhorchad, gun fhuachd, Haitheas uasal
ion-cliliùiteach chiatach, fodh thoradh, fodh slioillse, fodh bholadli tìre lain aim sa bheil deasfli sliòlas gacli maitheas.
FEAE NA PAIECE.
Macculloch of Park, near Dingwall, fiourislied before 1600. He was maternal groat-grandfather of Duncan Macrae, who wrote the Fernaig MS., from which I here transliterate. The whole of this MS. was transcribed and annotated by Professor Mac- kinnon, who in April, ]8o5, wrote a full des- cription of it — (see "Transactions of Gaelic Society of Inverness," vol. xi., 311-339, where this admirable nionoo-raph on the chief of the Macraes is given). Afterwards it was transcribed, though not entirely, by the late Eev. Alex. Cameron, LL.D. — (Rel. Celt., vol. ii., 1-137). The remainder was completed by Mr Macbain,
CEOSDHANACHD.
[iV rinneadh le Fear na Paiece.]
I.
Beannuich, Dlie, mo leabhar Ann sa(n) mhaduinn Mo sheadh ga chur air mheamhair An ceum lag.
II.
Cha cheum lag dhuinn bhi leanmhuinn
Air a(n) t-sligb'
Ta againn 'dhion ar n-anman
Bho Eigh nimh'.
III.
Bho Eigh nimh' ta na briathran Air an deachdadh Chuireas an ceill dninn a riaghailt Sinn da cleachdadh.
199
!▼.
Cleachdar leinn leughadh leabhair Much is aniiioch Cur urnuiorli Mhic Dbc airaird Dhiou ar n-anman.
'Dliion ar n-aiiman ata solar
Do aliiol Adhaimh
'Leiis:liadli s an eisneachd an t-Soisgeil
Cur ri cràbliadh'.
'Cur ri crabliadh. biodh gach duine Air gfach slig'be
Gheibh e gacli uile math shireas Bho Riffh nimhe.
Bho Righ uimh' ta gach uile Math ri chcstnadh Thug'maid g^ach urraim is onoir Dhò-s air thoisich.
Air tiis rinn Dia 'saos'hal uile
Reir a thoil
Chuir 6 'sbaothair fo smachd dhuinne,
'Coir a mboladh.
IX.
Coir bhi moladh Dhe gach aon la Sa bhi ga leanmhuiun Do riun e'n duine le mhioraild Do dhust talmhainn.
Do dhust talmhainn rinn Dia 'duine, E na ònar ;
Thug aisinn as a thaobh 'a e na chodal Rinn dhi Eòbh.
200
Do rinn e Eubli dha mar chiiideacbadli Sa(n) t-saoglial ;
Bha iad faraon naohh gun tiiiteam Air an coimhcheangal.
XII.
Coimlicheangal rinn Dia 't-Atlaair — Pàrras bnnaidli —
Dainwneachadh ('n) dithis ua chathair Mar àithne duinne.
Mar sin clmir Dia Eò is Adbamh Na gliàradh aoiblineach Thug aithne dliaibh mar a b'aill leis Ead blii cnimhineach.
XIV.
Cliuimhnich an t-ablicrsoir cealgach Ead bhi sa gbaradli T(h)ainior m'an comliair gu meallta Mar so tharlig.
XV.
Labhair riu as a chraoibli (An) riochtu nathrach : —
"Ithidli do'n mliios
Co cumhaclidacb ri Dia na cathrach
Bidli siblis'."
XVI.
Tliug Eubli lamh an sau cliraoibh Do bbuin di u(bli)all
Clia(idh) Adliamh leatba air a comhairl Dhoibh bu phndliar.
Dlioibh bu phndliar bristeadh àithn Dhè gun eas(bh)uidh Le caitbeanih 'n ubliaill gii dan Nacb robb cneasda.
201
'Thoiseach riiin Dia 't-Atliair Air a(n t-saoglial
Bhrosnuich i^ach iioacli shiol Adbaimh Ta baoofhal.
Ta sinn a(m) baoo;lial fodh pheac' N-ar ciad at liar
iJhrist air fain Dlie a(ni) flaitheas E na 'chatliair.
XX.
Cathair ainglc(aii) Dhe a(m) Paras Nan nil' aoiblineas Cha'n fheudar le neacli àireamh Mar tha choiblineas.
Ta 'choibimeas 'ghnà air uile 'Dòirteadh saoibliris Oirnn shiol Eò agas Adhaimh Is sinn daoibhir.
Ta sinn daoibhir dhetk creideamh Na ar cridhe
Gnn ar meamhair bhi freagair Da ar dli^he.
Dligh g-ach neach an san t-saoghal De shiol Adhaimh. Bhi 'giiidhe Mhic Dhe da saoradh Bho crach gàbhadh.
High na pais si an as gach càs
D' ar dion bho ar moalladh,
('N) ti chruthaich sinn sa cheannaich
Ainm bi' beannuicht.
Beanuuich Dh«, »&c.
AON FATHAST DO RINNEADH LE FEAE NA PAIRCE.
'G eirisrli dliomlisa 's a* lai?lie Biom gach trath sior gbuidh a(n) Rigli Clia''idhi le thoil air chrann da ar ceannacli Dul na chion cba mheallar mi.
Le Ian earlaid biom a' triall (A) fhlathanas mo mliiann g-acli uair Saofhal breugach chur air chùl Mo ruin, dnl sa(n) t-slighe bhuan.
III. Sligb na firinn ar neart Soiseenl direach, reachd Mhic Dbe Ga b'e mbinicheadh o ceart (Gu) fireantach, bhiodli sliocbd na dheigh
IV.
Deighidh 'mhìneacbaidb-s' thoirt leinn Bidh losa mar r(u)inn sa(n) am Lioumliora bbiomar bbo iochd Mar gbeall Dia 'sbliochd Abraham.
Beannnicbt do bhidheas gach ti Chreideas losa sa chi © Mallaicht gach neach s a reim Chuireas a cbùl ri Mac Dhe.
VI.
Diol gach neach nach gabh a roghainn Faire ri h-eug air bhreith' dhò; Dul fhlathas Dhe nan àrd-aingeal Sa chathair eibhinn bithidh na slòigh.
VII.
Cha'n ionann cor da'n t-sluagh threigt' Sa taio^h eitidh leigear eau Dh' iffrinn fhnar ['m] bi teintean lasrach Da' pian' a' feasd gnn dul eug.
203
VIII.
Eibhinn cor na(n) daoine taghta [?1 Dul air au aghart gach n-uair Mar ri losa an comunn ainglean Bidli ead aighearacli bith-bliuau.
IX.
Eigli na paise! foucli do gbràsan Orm-san is nii'n civs crack tim Bbo na nainibdean ta ga'm leanmbnimi Bbo taim aufbann, sibb' mo dbion.
Righ na soillse! thoir neart domhsa Bbrigb t'annsacbd s mi air cbeilidb Gu bbi cnimbueacb air do gbuidb N am laigbi dhom s ag eirigb. Gr eiriofb dbomb-sa, &c.
SGEEAD AN ANMA DO EINNEADH. Le Fear na Paiece.
I. Ta cogadli oidbebe agus la Orm a gbnàtb, cruaidb an chs Cba sgiiir e dbioni gii la m' eig Truime learn fa cbend na'm bas.
II. Cogadb ata air mo tbi Aobbar eagail gacb ti e; Coir dliuiun aicbcadli gu mor Caitbriseacb ni's leoir an gnè.
III. Triùir ta cogadb gacb lò — Aobbar bròin dbora a mbèud — Saogbal, an t-aibbearsoir s an fbeòil Air tbi mo leòn do bbidbeas ead.
IV.
Aon de'n triùir a deirim ribh Saoehal, do mheall na slòigh Ga'n dalladh bho thim gu tim Mealladh gacb ti bheir r'a dhòigh.
Ta'n saoglial dalladh an t-slòigh Tlaaobhas e gu mor gun cheart; Gun e againn acli mar clieò Cha choir dhuinn leòn le neart.
Cha'n fhoghainn le duine 'leòir, Cha'n fhoghainn ni's mo 'ga mhèud, Miann leo cruinneachadh san am, Sior ckur na cheajin do bhidheas ead.
VII.
Ach fhir a chruthaick uil' na slòigh Ckoirichj dhom na's leòir do ni Dion bho'n t-saoghal mi s mi dall Gach saobhadh bidh feall do chi.
Darna namh se gun bhreug 'Cholluinn an teid an sannt Ni'a miann le mo cholluinn chre M' aimhleas gu leir do bhidheas aim.
Cholluinn a bhedl mo steidh Orm a bhidheas i, cruaidh an càa 'Cothachadh gach tim s i 'bhith Da mo ruith le peacadli bài8.
Aobhar dùbhachais dhom fein Gach subhiachas theid a'm' chorp Le h'-àilgheas bho thim gu tim Cairear mi fo dhion sa(n) shloohd.
XI.
Riar na colna maircr do ni Bho is ullaiiili i dol le brcug Nuair is mo s is fearr a cor Gu iiabliar le toil gfu toid.
losa alilàiiear a(n) t-slòigh Guidheam e biii dhomlis da m' dhion Mo cliollainn [a] chur fo smachd Gun dolaidli theachd orm na dhiol.
XIII.
Treas nàmli làn do dk' fheirg 'T-Abhersoir le ckeilg a glinàth, Mar leomhunn air a(m) bi glut Dli'iounsuidh ar slxigadh gach trath.
XIT.
Mar sin biom an càs teann Fliir ckaoi air ckeann an t-slòigk Bko na naimkdibk ta ga mo ruitk Teaaruig is no matk* mi dkoibh.
XV.
Tòireackd orm do bhidlieas ead Air tki mo mkea,lladk gack la Gu fuirear ia coir dhoni bhitk Le caitkris is urnuigk a o-knàth.
XVI.
Urnuigk is aitkri an t-slòigk Ckaisgeas domk-s au cogadk mor Le guidk losa gack ii-uair Ciosaickear gu luatk an tòir.
XVII.
Their mathanas dkom s mi dall
Go do ckatkair tkall 's miann learn del,.
La do spiorad dian dom iùl,
Cuireann riutka evil air gack coir.
Permit, allow.
206
XVIII.
S mì t-anam a ta fo g-hlaa Aiiacal mi nis, o Ei^h! Bho na naimhdibh ta ga m' riuth S mi air crith freao'air mi.
Eagla mo iiaimlide(aii) gu leir Ta orm-sa fein a ghuàtb. Athair na siimaineam 's tu chi Bho 's fiosracli sibli mar a ta. Ta cogadh, &c.
AON EILE DO EINNEADH,
Le Fear na Paiece.
I. Tagliam (au) rigli firinneach Dia Dilis do mo tliriall g-ii bi, Le umhlachd mo chuirp da gliuidh Liibadli le mo chridli' ui.
Tri gnè dhaoin' th' air a(n) t-saoghal Do'n a(n) dligher miosg a(ii) t-sloigh. Air an ceougal buain ra dùir© Cha'n fliaigliear umhlachd mar roigh.
'Ciad fhear de'n triiiir mar chual' Gun. eòlas air a mhath do clii Cha ghabh e teagasg bho^ aon neach Gun eagla aimhleas do ni.
Dania fear dhiubh gu tuigseach Da blieil ciall is gliocas mor Bidh thuigs' dul do air dliearmad Cha'n fheàirrde neach e bhios fa choir.
207
Treas fear de'n triùir nach cniosd
Fiosrach air a choir san am
Dh' oibricheas le neart eii-còir
Gun' cheart na 'Mbac Dhe [a] cbàil.
VI.
Ach sill aafaihli triiiir tha don'
Air an t-saowhal cliorrach tli' ann
Mairg na' loro' air a' leanmlinin
S an ord dheamhna ta na ('n) ceann
Mairg- do ni uabhair sa(n) t-saoghal S afn) t-eusf era 'mhaoidheadb gach. lò Dluetli gach scan s gach òg ni doarmh'uinii E bhi cuimhneach Icotha.
VIII.
Cuimhnich an t-caig ort mar eallach Cuimhnich an ti cheannuich thu daor Nuair a sgaras riut an t-anara Sa(n) talamh cha.teid leat maoin.
Dhuin"! na dean Dia de'n t-saoghxl Bi-sa cuimhneach air do cheil Mar ata Dia eudor na ghealladh. Mairg neach a mheallas e fein.
Bbaim-s' òg, ni.s taim sean
Cha'n fhacas sid ri mo re
Fear ceart dul a dhlth no 'shliochd
Gun iochd fhaotuinn bho ^Ihac Dhe.
XI.
Ach gun bhi againn ach cuairt ghearr Air a(n) 1>3aoghal dearbh mar chi Bhi 'guidhe Mhic Dhe mo rui(gh)* Na m' uidh tagham an Righ.
* Variant of ri (a liinsr) yironounced rui and written usuallj' noyh ; in stanza II. it rhymes with slòigh.
AON DO RINNEADH. Le Fear na Paihce.
Saoghal air a bheil mi ! Ghoir mi ri Mac Dhe gun dul Bho ta seacliaran a'm' fheoil M'aigne ann do ròid clia* d' chuir.
II.
Sligh 'an 1>Soisgeil dheachd Criosd D'a Ostail gu f ior a thug Dhion an auman do gach ti Clireideaa an righ 'dòigh nach tuig.
III. Tuigeadli gach aon neacli Ba(n) t-saoghal Baoghal do dh'fhuilinn Mac De Le 'leth eibhinn ri crann' thàrnaig' Fodh b&inc Philoit cheusadh e.
IT.
Se dh'fhuilinn gach pian
Dhòirt 'fhuil gu fior dhiofl an t-»luaigh.
Da' ghuidh leinne Criosd a bhi
Le ar cridh feasd da luaidh.
Gun bhi' g ùrnaigh le creideajnli 'N eagla Dhe ta mar bliaoghal, Bidh na naimhdean da ar Leon 'T-AbhersoLr, an Fheoil s an Saoghal.
* MS. has mj chvrr for ni churr : a similar substitution of m for 11 is seen in Rel. Celt. II. p. 20, line 9. Other- wise, we should read, perhaps : ni'èiginn ann do ròid mi chuir.
DO GIINE OEATN A KINNEADH. Le Fear na Pairce.
losa molaim, an crann toraidh Ta ga fhuran fein gacli lò Air gach duin' blieir dha onair Bbios erii soilleir cinnteach dhò.
Chorp le aunsacM tnug mar shauns' Is a dhion au anina leis Dh'iffrinn chuaidh, chruinnicli na slòigh Blia uile fodh leoin, millt treis.
Chreach au t-seis a b'ion a threigs' Do sliiol Eubh is Adliamb air tkiis Fodh "beinc" Philoit dh'flinilinn pianadh Da ar diou blio Ifrinn a nuas [ ?.]
Treas la dk'eiricli, phaidh ar n-eirig Biodh gach trend gu smnainteack ( ?) trom Aobhar brosnaidli dliaibli ra cbosnadh Bhi 'choimh.-aoisuibh cuimlineacli ra 'sliloiun.
Air laimli dheis athar suas na 'chathair Skuidh gu flathail firinnea«h Thig gu neartmhor nuas tliobhairt ceartaia Air gach neach gu miorailteach.
Le fuaim trumpaid tliig gach aon ueach Cha bhi aon neach bhuath san uair Blieir Dia ceart orr' gun eaiibhuidh Ead a teachd sro 'n oigrhreachd bhuan.
VII.
Threud taght' uile air a laimli dheis cuiridb- 'Rigli dh' fhurain air a shluagh Na h-ard-ainglibli bidh da le-aiimLiim Gu cliathair aoibliueach cliaoidb bhi- bliuan.
VIII.
'Sluagh ci-osta air a laimli thoisgeil Gun fhear leageil bidh gu truagli Leigear sioa ead deig-h' trèigsi(n) Do taigh eitidh 'chaoi bhi-bhuan.
Mar bha glutan deighidh tuiteam 'G iarraidh furtach(d) an ain-tim Bidh na aluaghridh 'g iarraidh fuaraidh Nuair nacli truagh le Dia an diol.
X.
'La nach d'eisneadh leo na fàidh' Lagh no 'àithnt' da chnr an ceill Cha bhi diona ac' na furtach(d) Deigh tuiteam bho Mhac Dhe.
Namh feallsa tairg' ar mealladh Da ar tarruing thaigh gun dhion Feitheamh òirnn mar leomhain ghluf Gach uair thuiteas sinn na'(n) lion.
Caithris, urnaigh agns aithri Ar barrand 'bhi a(n) Dia Slighe dhireach ga ar diona Go righ dilis biodh ar triall.
XIII.
Eibhinn, aighireach ar gleidheadh, Suas na 'chathair la theid sinn, [Na] 'fhlathas bunaidh ta dhuinn uile S a crann toraidh foe ar cinn.
211
XIV.
Moille dlminn le bren^ dh' eirich Fad (?) bho'n fliirinn eisdear leinu Moladh losa. High iia Paise Mend a ghràs' tuigidh (?) sinu.
Mend ar peacaidh srhnàth da'n cleachdadh Mor an easbhuidh dliuinn gun sgiths S mo na gràsan no mar ta sinu Bhi gach trath sior ghuidh los'.
IAIN CAESWELL.
John Carswell, Bishop of tlie Isles, flourished between 1520-1572. He is remem- bered as the translator into Gaehc of Knox's "Liturgy." This work appeared in 1567, and is the first work printed in Gaelic. The only perfect copy now known to exist is in the library of the Duke of Argyll. Two other imperfect copies exist — one of these in the Edinburgh University Library; the other, now in the British Museum, was found in a farmer's house in Stratherrick. Dr Maclachlan edited a handsome new edition of the book in 1873. It is often more of a paraphrase than of a close translation. He heaps on epithets where none exist in the original. He seems to have been conscious of his lack of a full mastery of the Gaelic language. His was not the pen of Keating. He was under the influence of the traditional native schools, and was not forced, like the Dean of Lismore or like Duncan Macrae of Kintail, to manufacture an inconsistent phonetic style of spelling. He had a fair mastery of the language. His hymn to the
Note. — XIV, 1, dhaoin? XIV., 4, corrupt? II. 1, sanns' from Handsel, a variant of sainnseal. VIII., 1, erosta— forbidden, prohibited.
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book (p. 24) is happily done. The diction is clear and easy. Dr Maclachlan blundered three consecutive lines in stanza four, which runs —
"Gach seancha gan seanchus saobh Gach fear dano nar aomh breg Cumand ©adrad agas iad A leabhrain bhig biadli go heg." Maclachlan renders it —
"Every teacher v/ithout wise teaching. Every poet who hates not a lie, A distance between thee and these. Little book, let tiere be unto death." It literally means —
"Every teacher without false teaching. Every poet, moreover, who inclines not to a
lie. Communion between tbee and thean. Little booklet, let there be until death."
Dano (moreover) is the only obsolete word in the whole 20 lines, but the title, "Adhmad Beag," which Maclachlan renders "A Little Hymn," is curious. I take it to be genuine, and possibly from the root in "meadhrach," with the suffix "ath-." This root occurs in dermad, farmad. The Old Irish "taithmet" (memoria) is met with m the old hymns, where it is glossed "foraithmet." We have thus a proto-Coltic *afi-mento, where mento is cognate with Latin com-mentiim, and with English mention. The Milan Codex has the phrase — "Cen nech dinim aes dim cblaind frim foraithmet" — which is in modern Gae- lic— "Gun neach de ^n'aois (p, linn), de m' chloinn ri m' chuimhneachadh." I take adhmad, accordingly, to imply memorial, lemembrance, technicallv apjolied in this case to verses commemorative of friendship. No evidence occurs to me to prove that the
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meanino- "hymn" is orisfhial to the word. The (rood doctor made a random guess. The word is now extinct, and I substitute, "aidheara," a joyous carol; the adjective "aidheamach" (joyous) beingf still in use. Pre\'ising' so much, the Bishop's hymn to the Gaelic translation of 1567 would run as follows nowadays —
Aidheam Bheag^ an seo a rinn M. Seon Carsuel do chum an leabhair bhig-sa fein.
Gluais romhad a leabhrain bhi"- Gu O'Duibhne* rig a'd reini Cho luath sa dh'fhàgas tu an clò Na' aros do soirbhich seun.
Na dheidhidh sin siubhail gach tir Ar fhad Alban go min mall Ach ort o nach 'eil am feum Na tabhair ccum an gort Ghall.
An d eis sin taisdcal gach tonn Go crich Eircann na ionn fial Ge beag air na brathairibh thu Gluaig air amharc an sùl siar.
Gach eeanachaidh gun seanchus saobh Gach fear maraon nach aom breug Comunn eatar riut agus iad A leabhrain bhig biodh go h-eug.
Gach neach do ghràdhuich a choir Do shiol Adhaimh roirah cha ghuais, Aca sin dean do nead Eonihad, a leabhrain bhig gluais!
* The name Campbell is but the nick-name " wry- mouth." O'Duibhn' is the old name -evil-going, evil one! (Devil-worship?) See Mr Macbain's admirable paper on Personal Names (Gael. Soc, Inverness. Trans, vol., .\.\. 303).
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AON DO EINNEADH.
Le Mr Eoin Carswell, Easbuig, Eara- ghaidlieal.
I. Cliolluinn! thu^ad a(m) bàs Tuig fein gu bheil tlni 'nuadh chas Dàile, 'cosmhuil, is càsa dhuit Tlia bas aun sau ursaiim agad.
Creid nacli fada bhuat au t-oug Bi-sa, clioUuin, air do choimliead [—guard] Cha mhair a(u) saoghals ach seal Thaobliadh dhuit-san cha dlighear.
Imeachd do chois, liis do làmh — Creid na ceud-fath' ra'n caoclil.i'th — Smaoinich air dhoille na(n) dearc Moiir air t' imnidh is air t' eisneachd.
IV.
Bho is eigin dut diil a fad
Peoicli 'do dbeigh is feucli romhad
Feuch futbad is fos do cbinn
Feucb gacb taobh ma d' thimcbioll.
Feuch a toradh tliig a mach Assad-s', clioHuinn, chiontach. Do chòrra diomhain re treis Air feadh a(n) domhain ['u] dì-mees.
VI.
Feuch ua fiaclaibh, feuch do [?] roeg Cha ghlic nach gabh teagasg, Bho ta e air flieuchainu duit an dan Creid a(n) sgenl bho sgathan.
* In stanza V., 3, còrr-càrr, red flesh of the pig (Eriskay) ; translate " lazy carcase ;" it is the same as carna i. feoil-O'CIery. In VII., 1, tim means last or final end of life. I render it : alas and alas ' the final end v., Windisch sub tinime (2).
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Teurli rithiat, ro-mhair? tim Pian an anma an uamh. Iffrinn Nach eil furtachd bho'n olc ann, Ort-s' an chontrachd, a chollain,
Cholluin, thiigad, &c.
N.B. — In the second and fourth lines of this metre the dysyllabic cndin.^ has a eec- oudaiy acceoit. Another hymn on the same topic was published by D. Kennedy, Kilmel- fort, in 1786, but it is quite different from this one; it ìb credited to Carewell.
AON EILE DO RINNEADH.
Le Mr Eoin Caeswell.
I. Tha seachd saighdean air mo thi Gach saio^head dhiubh da mo lot Oohoin fàth ghearain gach la Gun gliabh lad tamh ann mo 'liorp.
A h-aon dhiubh an t-saitrhead shiar Bith da 'n co-ainm a' chraos MinifT do mheall mi a phòit Gos na thainig fois de m'aois.
Darla saip^head ?ur h-e sannt ^lairg dha 'n do riiin ijuin Cha 'n fhaodani sgaradh ris reidh Ach 'n teid ere air mo mhuiu.
Treas saighead a crhlac cliur Diomas tha 'cur rium gu h-olc Maille ri m'anam a chiàdh Cha slan a dh' fhàg sin mo chorp.
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Ceathramh. saig-liead a ta An altaibh nio chiiamh a stigh Cha leig an leisg mi d'a deòin Air aon slighe choir sa bith.
Coio-eamh saii^head an t-siiil Farmad is tnù ris na chi Na seuid sin da 'n tugas cion Unnt' sin cha 'n fhaigheam brigh.
Seisamh saighead gu garg An fhearg thig eatar mi is each, Criosd a chasg nan urchair dhiom Is Dia da mo dhion a ghnath.
Seachdamh saighead am fear mòr Mairg air am beir tòir nan arm Cha [d'] thilg ead neach nach do bhuaiì Cha mho bhuail neach nach do mharbh.
Gabham paidir do Mhae De Is creud nan Ostal gu beachd, Criosd eatar mi i? guin nan arm Le coig salm, sia no seachd.
Tha seachd saighdean, &c.
N.B. — Macrae writes, "Creid nj Nasple" (crend nan Abstol) ; CarswcU "easpalaibh." One cannot infer that Macrae had Carswell's book btrfore him, though old Mr Farquhar had no doubt a copy of the work in Kintail. The Doan of Lismore ascribes this, piece to Donnchadh Og, and certain references in the Dean's text, such as "Muire 'chasg nan urchair," &c., show that Macrae's version is- an expunged one. Carswell may have caused this to be done, and then the hymn, wrongly, was ascribed to him just as, e.g.. Bishop Chie-
holm was thought, even by many priests, to have done the hue Gaelic translation of the Latin hymn, "Ven.i Sancte Spiritus," the fact being that it was clone by Father EanMne, formerly of Moidart, who died in Melbourne. Macrae's version gives only six of the deadly sins, and in a different order from the Dean. Macrae missf« driiis out altogether. The Dean's enumeration is "craos, driiis, leisg, sannt, diomas, fearg, farmad." Keating has "sannt, diomas, fearg, craos, leisg, drùis, mailis." The Leabhar Breac — a manuscript 500 years old — gives the number as eight, viz., "diumas, etrad, sant, uabar, inocbaii, craes, fcrg, toirsi, snimche;" for "leisg," and "farmad" it has "toirse" and "snimche," i.e., melancholy and dejection. The Leabhar Breac writer states that the capital sins -are put to flight by the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer, "because lowly entreaty of the High Father puts down jiride; the sajic- tifying of God's name in us through chastity puts away lust; the continuous supi^lication for the coming of the Kingdom of God re- moves avarice; the desire of performing God's will lowers boastfulness ; the asldjog for daily bread restrains gluttony; the for- gi\-ing of sins without maintenance of iwe,- tility subdues anger; serenity and constancy in the endurance of persecution and tempta- tion puts away from us the vice of earthly sadness; and freedom obtained from the Lord removes melancholy." All which is 60. Maclachlan was not always lucky in hia transliteration of the Dean's version — e.g., in place of "Am bith d' an co-ainni a' chraos" he wrongly has "Dha an gath ann mo chrios," thus missing the point and the metre; near ("an fhear") he transliterates "an t-uabh- arr!" The Dean's 11th line — "In cogew sayd din zlag chur demis a chur rwra gi hoik" he renders — "An cuigeamh saighoad an glamair, dimeas a ohuir rium gu h-olc," which has no
10
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sense. He evidently did not know tlie word "diomas" — pride, inordinate puffed-up-ness, vanity. Mr Macbain deriives "diomus" from dim, excefis, and "meas;" but this is not strictly correct, as it fails to account for the vocalism. I have "*di-od-niess" marked in ray dictionary, veliich is Zimnier's quite sat- isfactory derivation 'Kelt. Stud., ii. 10 n.)
The first line< of stanza iv. I take in the sense of difficult or painful -m-estling', the special reference bein^ to Epheaians vi., 12, of. 1 Pet., v., 5; Matt, iv., 7, where spiritual pride is shown to be a things to be resisted. The contest is fitly designated a hard wrestle. — Thus far of Carswell of Carnassery.
N.B. — In the dialect of Muuster "Cre nan Aspal" — the Apostles' Creed; it here agrees with Macrae and Carswell, save that in parts, at all events, of Munster the d is fllrojoped.
SIR JOHN STEWART OF APPIN
(who flourished towards end of sixteenth
century.)
Laoidh do rinneadli le Sir Iain Stiubhart na h-Apuinn.
Dallaidhi sannt sluagh an domliain
'N aghaidh Dhe sgu[r] diocuir' dlioibh;
Cailleadar an ciall nui na blireug mhilis.
Na['n] creidmaid dul eug fa dheireadh Smuaineamaid sid mo biomaid dall Chuireamaid cuid mhoir de ar n-ulaidh Sa taigh fa dbeoidh is buuaidh 1 thall
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"Mor am mearan 2 do na daoine Breuof fcalls' da'n cur fo cheò S nach creid luchd nan send lo'n solar Dul eug gun an counach 3 leò.
Oa . . . teanal taigli Seirbhid e blii cnr na cbeann, Si 'n uaigh dbearbbas an. fhiriim TiiÌEf nach seilbh dhileas ta ann.
Droing eile, dhearbbadh ge connacb Daonnachd is ailmsidlieacbd 4 is òmMaS Gbeobh iad seo chionn am feile Nèamh bho rig'L. orkrein na glòir.
VI.
6a db'iomadh neach ann san taigb sin Gbeobh gacb fear dhiubb inbhe righ Mealaidb iad 'n oighreachd gun chonaa, Saibhreas is eonas is sitb.
Eiginn duibh dul air sligh Sbioin Peighinn loin cha leig(f)ear libb ]Mairg aig an d'fbàs am bùireadh brèig Dbi'fbàgas (?) gu truagh trèig(f)idb sibh.
Da theagnihaLs 6 tha fa 'r comhair Seallidb bhuaibh co dhiubb is miann Taigb r'ar pianadh gu daor do-bbròini Taigh. cliaraidb 7 'n oird oUabbair 8 cbaoimb
Tai'/ii am bi teas gun diou tuilkadh la na gathan neimh da['n] de<)l Taigh eil' bho is ead is ullaimb Da bidh na ceud cuilbb ceòil.
Faide dàil na(n) dithis bho ckeile Sail is seirbh' is fion eo-bMas, Mairg fliiiair aim air a tagliadh, Ga['n] tug'adh dàil a ruith as.
Mar 9 tlireobhair' thearbas bho 'chaoraibh Mac-tire 10 is e fad am feall Nuair a blieirear ceart na n-anmun Glacaidh na deamknai na daill.
XII.
Acli athchtiing-e 'rinneas — aona Mhic Muir* Nack do dhiiilt dion fo do rosg mall Nuair a sgaras sinn bko'n cholluinn Gun ar n-anam 'dhul dall.
1 habitation ; 2 madness ; 3 wealth, gear, affluence ; 4 alms-giving ; 5 humility ; 6 chances, contingencies ; 7 melody, music ; 8 host, multitude ; 9 treobhair, a husbandman, same as treabhaire, householder, farmer — O'Don. Suppl. 10— wolf. Diocuir' in I. 2, is short for diocnireadh repulsion, expulsion, driving off. Last lin. of first stanzs Triall naoh teid go'n innis-fhlaithe' If this be correct, it still needs the o vowel ; IV. 1, might perhaps be corrected to ga cruaidh 'saothair teanal taigh'. In stanza VII f. of the future survived ; 3 and 4 of this stanza are to me unclear.
AON EILE DO EINNEADH LEIS.
I. Creud fa tarlamar 'tùirsf' S na th'ann fo akuilla' blàth hrèig Gun an saoghal ack na sgàil mkeallaidk Mar neulai(bh) dkallaidk na grèin'.
Mar an dealt ri la ciiiin No 'aneacbd is dliiitk© bbios geal Toradh nan duill' air a ckrand Cha mliair a dli'aon seun ack seaL
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III. Ròs ÌB cùbhraidh no lili Plumbis no siri dearg Gur g«ari- a bhios cad fo bhxiajdh Siud meamliair aai t-sluaigli gu dearbh.
IV.
Samliradh g& mòr a theas
Fogrhar theid as gu liiatli
Crìonaidh gacìi his a mliàigh gliiùrm ghlaìs
Mar sin theid solas an t-sluaJsrh.
Ach 'a eibhinn leis gach neacb an dàil Fhaighinn gu àilghios an cuirp, Leir dhuinn mar a dall Nach eil duill' air crann nach tuit.
VI.
Cba d' fhàs air talamh suaa De dhaoin' no chrann uo bliuar De dh' aon ni nacb crion fa dheòidh. Mo sgeul bròin a blu ga 'hiaidh.
VII.
Aobhair tùirs is aobbair bròin Gun tuigs' a bbi do ghlòir Dhè Gun smuaintean bbi air ar cridh O RÌ nan Ri cobbair mi.
VIII.
Do bbi triuir da m' niitb gu teann Saoghal s an sanxit s an fbeòil Dbè dìon-ea mis' bho 'n triuir Sa Ri nan Diil na leig leò.
IX.
Dbè dìon-sa mis' bbo'n triuir Do bbi air miiaim feall is breig Agus cobbair mi do ghnhtb Neartaich mo ghràdb is mo cbreud. Creud fa tarlamar, &c.
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XA DEICH FAITHNTEAN.
AXN AM MEDEACHD DAIN. I.
Creid direach an Dia nan Dùl
Cnir air chùl ùmhla do dhealbh
Na toir ainm Ri nan Hi
Ma gheobhar thu sa g-hniomli an geall.
Dònihnach Ri neimli nan neul
Na do chridh coimliead saor
Do mhathair is t' atliair orach n-uair
Thobhair honoir daibh blmat faraon.
Marbhadh no meairle ua taobh Adhaltras no smaointean car Na t(r)og' fianuis ach sfu fior Sin an rathad gu cricli gblain.
Na dian sannt air mhor no air bheag Friamh an uilc a'd choir na leag Sin deich fàithntean Dhè dhuit Tuig gur fior iad agiis creid.
N.B. — "Neoil" is dialectal for "neul" — "nial" in genitive plural — and may have beeai used in original of II. Transcript has "noil;" "trog" in III. is for "tog," and exemplifies the well-known phenomenon of an intro- duced r.
223 CROSANACHD 'ILLE BHEID'.
I. Truasfli cor chlaiim Adhaimh Aimlighlic càird' a ... Diombiian doi(bli) a(n) tòir air [?] Glòir dliiomliain Doiiain [?.]
An aoiblinea? se fàth a(n) tiiirso Toic bhochd iia beatha-s'; Theid an seal siu(n?) seach(ad) Mar ghaoithibh ra cur cheatha.
III. Cba'n eil annt ach lasair Na leitir air ghlaic èirig-h No brùchd shoinionn 'Fhaoillidh Air tùirleum bho thèarnadh.
IV.
Truaofh truagli da'(n) tì mbeallaa Miol-bhrèig Ì3 beag toraidh; Blàth dionibuan an domhain 'Grèidbeadli dMombuaidb na dheogkaidh
Mairg do gheobli a(n) glòir-s
Grearr a mhaireaa a mheamliair;
Bidh iad cian fa cliomhair
Pian na deigh dhlighear [ghleidhear].
VI.
,Cè nÌ3 neart Shamsoin No saotbair lorcla laiade Neart Choncbiillin chleitgliil Cè Ector no Achill.
VII.
Cè àille Absoloin
Innleachd Aristotl©
Teangadh threun "TuU' Cicer' "
Fodli bheil freumh gach focla.
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Co cumhachd Chesair
No seun Alecsander
Ce an carn-clilacli caoidhe
Bath nan Arm na'n Ard Ghuill.
Ce fòs bheil Solamh
Saoi dan eagnaidli iomlan
Na 'righ, 'mhac, saoi, shoghradliaich
"Jonat" a b'fhearr iomradh.
Cholluinn! a cholluinn Chi cealg an t-saoghail Biodh ort mar omhunn Do chrioch bhochd bhaoghal.
XI.
Bhiadh bhiast chiarraidh Cbrainn-luaidh air luath s^beil Bhlàth 'gheug- air crionadli Creud is fàth da t' uabhur.
Gearr gu bi biast chiorcrach Criom do chnamb' p-u ro luam, Brùgh cbnuimbean is chiarag Bheath' chnaimb do cholluinn.
XIII.
Gearr gii bi beul corcur Na chreadhaidh iiidhir d'eis dubhadh Meoir thimchioll na troidhe Faraon air aon chumadh.
XIV.
Bho['n] imich (?) go aithchearr 'N ait na(n) rosg re-gklan Do shliasaide sitheil Na'n leabaidh aig daol-gheur.
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XV.
Ach so crìoch do chomuinii Eis' chruinne clieal<jacb Bho ta e air ti do chnodadh Ga do chlaoidh chaoi le chair de.
Ach mar fhaighear bhuathsan ùmhlacud Agus aigne siochaidh Gràdh coitchioun g^un chaochladh lar foir-cheaun gur fior-truagh.
This piece does not seem to be by 'vlacrae, else he would have super-added 'l?is an Sgriobhair." The reference to the gi-.':it worthies of the past was no doubt a forcible way of illustrating the transitoriness of the present. It was a method always m vogu?, and will continue to be so. The leariu;! and eloquent Keating, in meditating on the un- prohtableness of the vain glory of the world, says — "Biodh a fhiadhnaise sin ar na daoinibh is oirdhearca do chuaidh romheiinn; oir nior chaomhainu a cheannas feadhna Caesar; na a neart Samson; na a eagna Solamh; na a aiteas (triumph) Alexandeir; na a aille Absalon na a intleacht (intellect) Aristotles; naid a bhriathra blailhe briocht- Bhnoighte (beautifully cut) Cicero; na aon eile acfuinn d'a mbi ann, ar ghuaisibh an bhais." In vi. lorcla is the Greek Hercules, A chill is Achilles; the epithet in vi. 3 refers to one of the numerous feats of the Gaelic hero, Cuchullin; omhunn in x. is the older form of uamhunn fear; foir-cheann in xvi. means final end; luam in xii. means swift, and ia a form that occurs in the St Gall glosses as the equivalent of Latin celox. In xii. 3 kuigg of the transcript I transliterate "ciarag" as the vowel assonance requires it; it would seem to be justified by the reference to daol (beetle) further on. In vii. 4 bho
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would suit as a rendering' of vo, but fodh alsa makes equally g-ood sense, and I have pre- ferred it, as I have met with speakers who say bho dhion for fodh dhion. I am not sxire of "oimbi^' in. xiv. 1, which might stand for iomadh, which does not lit the context. Mac- rae, perhaps, got this piece from oral tradi- tion, or possibly copied it from some other person's writing. In i. 2 chowlain ought to yield cliomhlainn.
ALASTAIE MONRO, STRATHNAVER.
"He died before 22nd December, 1653." (Eel. Cel. ii. 3.) Laoidh do rinneadh le Alas- tair Monro, fear-teagaisg bha ann an Strath- Nabhar (Stratknaver, Sutherland.)
O Dhe nèimh da leir freumh
Gach treaghaid shannt is dheamhna
Bronn dom gràs a clium bha 'gi-àdh' dliaoin*
Chum 8 gur fasmar diadhaidh.
O Ei! aidbheam ta mo pheacaidh' Sgriobh[t'] air fad na t'fhianuis: Do t' tbaobh is fuath mo chaomh dhuala', Claoidh iad fothad na t'dliiorras.
III. Claon toil ni'fheòil, mo bhaoith' is m'òig Saoghal fòs s na deamhnai Stri gu calma 'sìor chlaoidh m'anama Chaoidh gu damanadh siorruidh.
O Dhe ghràdhuich bheir trid do ghràsan
Le treun làimli do chaoraibh
Bho bheul laidir bhreugach Shàtain
Sa bheir dhoibh pàirt de d' righeachd.
227
Noali san arc dhion do chairdeas
Ach na thraog-li fearg na dile
Ajtus Josejih ciallacii tliobhairt bho iarnai'
Gu sluaofh bhiadliadh an daorsa.
Maois mac Amram a caol a(i)bbue Le mnaoi allamharr' sliaor sibli; Niiaa bho'ii Eiphit gliluais le gliocaa (An) sluasrh glieibh air sliaorsainn.
Tlui2f sibh 'fàidh 'ceann tri làithe(an) As' mhial a^liabhiiidh saor bhuaith' Fòs Eì Dàidh bho Gholàias Tar èis coir' àilarbis dhio2rhailt.
Sadrach, Mesach, Abednego Do dhealbhai(bh) brèig' nach isleadh, Dhion san àmhuinn bha gu gràineil Triùir-s' 'u àireamh t' fhìrean.
IX.
Thuw Susanna le claidheamh rò-mliath Bho thnù fhear a mì-rùiu; Daniel crodhaidh a crò leomJiainn Ard-ri mhoir nan cleaver.
Thug Manasseh a lainih Assir' Gu tamh an taimhibh Israel; Do luchd àraidh bho bhruid Bhàbeil Thug tliuà' a lainih Chyruis.
Dion mar seo mi, O Ri ghloir-mhoir Bhrigh do throcaire aomadh S nach buail traghadh air abhuinn gràis Ach 's eòl dà-s' lìonadh.
228
XII.
O Dhè mi t&a,gasg le fior chreidimli Brigh teanwa chinnticheadh Fàcl-sa, Ira, trid do Mliic gliràidli Strad de d'orliras na m'inntinu.
O EÌ diou iJii bho gliniomh breig S gu tagham treubh na firinii Ni thus' losa! le t'thoil clieund Na cuii'TJ cliaomh a shaoradh.
Dian le spionnadh treun do spioraid Dhe ! mo philleadh is m'thiolpadh Ath-nuadhaich is ùraich mo chridhe dhùll-
ai(crh) S gu faighinn siiil saor dhiadhaidh.
Ga taim loghta, O Ri shòghraidh' Le brigh t' Fhocla dion nu; Le treòir losa bheir mo gliniomlis' Glòir da triùir is aon Dia.
Dhe ueimh, &c.
Note. — The author was well up in the Bible. Whatever version he used it con- tained the Ajoocryphal History of Susanna. He pronounced ao like long i; ea in deamhun (devil) a.s a diphthong having assonance with Ì0 in siorruidh in stanza iii. Bro»» vb., dis- tribute, bestow; treaghaid, sb., a dart; iarn- aidh' — iamaidheachd — the sense being, out of irons, out of imprisonment; allamhorra, adj., foreign, strange; lit., over-sea, beyond the sea; 1st Chronicles vi. 3 is reference in vi. The genitive of the word for river is written "awne," as if amhna, a pronunciation which varies with aibhne; dullaigh, adj., for dùd- lach, wintry, gloomy. Transcript in stanza
229
V. haa mairk, which oii<i^ht to bo nairk; again, in XV. it has truis, which should be truirs, as iu viii. ; stanza x. refers t-o 2nd Chronicles XXX. 2; vhjh in iii. is bhaoith for bheath, is writt/en with ea iu Crosanachd Illcbhrid, Jiue 6.
DONNACHADH NAM PIOS.
DUNCAN MACRAE OF INVEEINATE, CHIEF OF THE MACRAES.
"His father was Alex. Macrae of Inver- inate, a man of whom little is known ; but his grandfather, the Rev. Farquhar Macrae, min- ister of Gairloch, and afterwards of Kintail, was a man of mark. Mr Fai-quhar was a student of Edinburgh, and so distinguished himself in Classics and Philosophy that it was proposed in 1603 to make him Eegent of the College, in succession to James Reid. But Lord Seaforth interposed. . . The writer of the Fernaig Manuscript was not only a man of high intelligence, but was also a deeply religious man. His own composi- tions, as well as the general character of the collection, prove this. He was an ardent Episcopalian; a vehement Jacobite. He was also evidently a man of assured social posi- tion in the district. Duncan Macrae un- doubtedly was all this. He was the head of his name, chief of a subordinate, but an old and warlike, clan. Many of his family were Episcopalian clergymen in the district. . . He was undoubtedly a remarkable man., and a character pleasant to contemplate. I have no reason to doubt that there were many like-minded Highland gentlemen living in those days — cultured, liberal, and pious men; but undoubtedly Duncan Macrae, the en- gineer and mechanic, the ardent ecclesiastic.
230
the keen, tliough liberal-minded politician, the religious poet, and collector of the litera- ture of Jiis countrymen, is as different from the popular conception of a Highland Chief of the Revolution as can well be con- ceived. . . His end was tragic. His wife was heiress of Raa-say ; but she, more zealous for the dignity of her own clan than for that of her husband, secretly conveyed the title- deeds of Raasay to a relative of her own, and deprived the Macraes of the lauds. Duncan Macrae jirospered notwithstanding. He
bought the lands of Affaric from The Chis- holm, and went to the east country to com- plete the titles. . . When returning. . . Macrae and his attendant attempted to cross the River Connag at Dorisduan. The river was in flood. . . The Chief was drowned. . . . A pibroch called Cumha Dhonnach- aidh nam Pios" was composed upon the occa- sion, of which the minister of Glcnshiel has only i-ecovered the first two Hues: —
S grianach an la, ho!
Thainig lighe ann san abhuinn, hi!
Captain Matheson has been able to trace the following stanzas of an elegy composed to Macrae's memory, it is said, by his wife, Janet Macleod of Raasay: —
Na'n iomradh sibh, 'illean, Sheinneadh mise dhuibli iorram Air mo laimh cha b'e biuneas Bu bheus dhi;
Tighinn a nuas Caolas Scalpai, S ann a chnala mi naigheachd, B'e mo dhiubhail mar thachair S b'e 'm beud e;
231
<ju robh Donìiacliadh mo cbridhe Ga srhiiilan le lisjhe, Fear mor meamnach tigheariiail Beusach."
(v. Pi-ofessor Mackiniion in vol. xi. Gael. 8oc. Inv. Traus.)
Tlie Rev. A. Maclean Sinclair, in his Gae- lic Bards (1715-1765) says Macrae was born about 1G35, and was drowned some time after 1693, and tbat lie was educated at the Uni- versity of Ediuburfrh. The Rev. Mr Mac- lean Sinclair gives the first three stanzas of "Laoidh a riniioadh an am mulaid," which agrees with the Fernai" MS. version save that in stanza iii. he has "thmgadh" in place of "bhreith" of Femaig MS. Macrae got the epithet, "nam Pios" from the magnificenec of his table scr\'ice. "Pios," a cup, Stokes takes from Latin 'pvxis," a box, and Mr Macbain seems to agree. Macrae's brother perished in Gleann Lie about 1680; Mr Mac- lean Sinclair thinks the date given in the Inverness Gaelic Society Transactions, xii., -viz., 1620, clearly wrong (v. Gaelic Bards, 1715-17G5, p. 269.) If the lines—
(An) TÌ bu mhiaun leiun 'diu againn Siud sa mhaduiun air bhreith bhuainn
refer to his brother's death, it would be com- posed about 1680. An elegy on this bro- ther's death was composed by a Kintail poet, am Bard ^Mac Mhurchaidh Mhic Iain Ruaidh, who lived at Mamag, in Gleneilchaig, Kin- tail. It is given in "Gaelic Bards" (1411- 1715, pp. 24-26), and I take the liberty of copying it here, with its introduction, to give an indication of the sad event. In transcrib- ing it I mark the quantity of the long vowels, which is a vital point in GaeUc and ought .not to be neglected. As regards the phrase
232
in the 5th stanza — cha "chuir" càirdean "an ire" dhuinn e — I use it in the sense of "re- proach," "cast up," which is the Kintail use of it also, but in parts of the Outer Isles the phrase means "to make to believe," e.g., "tha'd ga chur an ire dha," they are makin" him believe. "Represent to one" is the general idoa.
For what is known of the fortunes of the Fernaig- M.S., see "Eeliquise Celticae," vol. 2. where it is fully transcribed (pp. 4-90) by the late Rev. Dr Cameron, pp. 91-137, by the editor, Mr Macbain. The orthography of the MS. is often very puzzling. But "next to the Dean of Lismore's book, it is our most important document for older Gaelic, a good part of its value, as of its weakness, consist- ing in its phonetic spelling. Its poetry, which is mostly religious and political, is of an un- usually high order; and it is hoped that a modernised and transliterated version of it, wholly or in part, will be undertaken by some patriotic Gael."— (Pref. to Eel. Celt., ii.)
"Murdoch Macrae, Murchadh Mac Alastair, was the seventh son of Alexander Ma^crae of Inverinate, Chief of the Macraes. In the beginning of the winter 1680 ( ?) he went on a hunting excursion to the upper parts of Glen Lie. As he did not return when ex- pected, his friends became alarmed about him. After a search of fifteen days they found his lifeless b»dy at the foot of a large rock. He niay have been killed by falling over the rock; but the common belief was that he had been tltrown over it by a wicked wretch that he had found stealing his goats. The poet was a herdsman with Murdoch Mac- rae's brother" — (Gaelic Bards, 1411-1715, p. 24):-
J
233
CUMHA DO MHURCHADH MACRATH
A Cliailleadli an Gleann-Lic 'sa bhliadhna, 1680 (?).
(Leis a' Bhàrd Mac Mliurchaidk Mliic laia Ruaidh.)
I.
Ocb nan oclian s mi sgith 'Falbh nan cncx; seo ri sion; Gur noo-shocracli an sgriob tlia san Duthaicb.
II.
Cha b'e t'fbàsach gun ni No t'fbearann àiticb 'chion sil, Ach sgeul ro cbràiteacb a mbill ar Sùgradb..
III. Thu bbi 'Mburcbaidb, air cball Gun aon cbuiinse cia 'm ball; Siud an urcbair bba caillteacli Dbuinne.
IV.
'S beairt nacb guidbinn de m'dheòin Ach 'b ni 'lugbaig Dia òirnn. Do cbùl buidbe bbi cbòir na H-ùracb.
'S cruaidb an càs 'sa bbeil sinn la goirt cràiteacb g^b cridh' S cba cbiiir càirdean an ire Dhùinn e.
Och mo cblisgeadb. s mo cbàs Gun tbu'n ciste cbaoil cblàr Le dearbb fbios aig do cbàird»an Ciurrt' air.
234
VII.
Bu chall cèill agns bàigb S ^'m bu mhisde mo cliàil Mar a tuigt' air mo dhàn gu'm B'fhiù thu.
VIII.
Nuair a eliuidlieadh tu 'sheòid Mar ri buidhinn ag òl Mar bu chubhiaidh bliiodh ceòl mu'n Tùrlach.
Slàn le treubhantaa seòid Slàn le gleusdachd duiu' bg Nuair nack d'flieaid thu bhi beò gna Cliiiram.
Slàn le gliocas s le ceill S a bhi measail ort fhein S nach eil fios ciod e'n t-eug a Cliiiirr thu.
XI.
Slan le binneas nam bard
Slan le griniieas nan. lamJi
Co 'ni mire ri d'mhnaoi no
Sùgradh?
XII.
Slan le grianeas nam meur Slan le binneas luchd theud 'Nuair a sheinneadh tu'm beul gTUi Tùchan.
Slan la uaisle na's leòir S tu bhi suairoe gun bhròn Bho nach d'fhoiaras thu sheòid gu H-ùrail.
Slan le fiadhacb nam beann Slàn le iass^ach nan allt; Co chuir iarunn an crann ch* Cliùiteach?
Do luclid-fair' tlia gun fliiainh* Bho'n bha fair' orra rianih; 'N nochd clia gliearain am fiadL. a Cliiiram.
XVI.
S ait le binnicli nan allt Chor s gu'n cinnich an clann Gu'n do miilleadh. na blia'nn de Dh'fliùdair.
XVII.
Faodaidh 'n earbag 'n nochd Eatar mhaoislcacli is bhoc Cadal samliacb air cnoc gun Cbùram.
XVIII.
Faodaidh ise bhi slan 'Siubhal iosal is àird Bho na chailleadh an t-armunn. Cliùiteach.
In XV. 1 the reference is to the red deer; "binnich nan allt," the roe deer; "tùrhich,'' a large fire.
I now proceed in order with the pieces whioh are by Duncan Macrae himself; his collec- tion he calls "Dorlach Laoidhean do sgfriobh- adh le Donnchadh Mac Rath" (1688).
236 LAOIDH DO RINNEADH
LEI3 A SGRIOBHAIU AN AM MULAID.
Shaowliail! is dionibuan do mhùirn Mairg' a ni tùirn nach. fiach Gad bhiomar [an] diu ri oeòl Geàrr 'bhiodh bròin da chur sioe.
Chunnas cha'n fhad bho'n uair Cuirni is ceòl is suairceaa glan; Taobh a staig-h dh'fheasgair aai ciLairt Chumias sin sluagh ri gal.
III. Mairg do ni bun sa(n) -fc-saoghal Bho'(n) is baoghalach e gach. n-uair; Ti bu mhiaiui leinn 'diu againn Siud sa mhaduinn air bhxeitk bhuaiim.
IV.
Ach unnad-ga Mhic mo Dhe Mo mhiuinighin gu leir gu(n) cuir. Do gach anam gur tu is leubh Chreideas unnad fein is t'fhuil.
Fòir orm-sa, Mhic mo Dhe Na cuirear leat mi air dhail Bho ta saoghal-sa na 'leum Teasairg mis' Dhe, bho chas.
Teasraig-3 mis' bho chas (N) t-saoghail-sa ta Ian do chuir, Mai- theasraig' thu clann Isiral Bho Pharoah 'bhathadh sa tohuir.
'Cuala sibh na rug air Dàidh Nuair thuit e an gabhadh peacaidh, Absolom, a mhac a b'àillde 'Breith 'àite bhuaitb, beachdail?
VIII.
Ach amhraic a chùis fa dheireadh 'N eiric dha-san bhi foill Ga bu mhor leis àilt a ghniaig' Cliroch i e ri uair sa chaill.
IX.
Nach fair sibh seo cor an t-saoofhail 'Mac 'g-abbail baoo-bail air 'athair Ga do dhiant a cliùis le saobliadh Tuig nacb saoiread e la bhratha.
X.
Dhaoin! bitbidh na 'ur n-aire. Fear air fear 'g iarraidb baogliiail Ach niairg neach ni-aigbear ris Bho s raor a(ii) carraiche, 'n saogbal. Sbaoghail is diombuan, &c.
Note. — This poem may have been com- posed about the time Macrae's brother was killed in Glen Lie. Cameron transliterated this piece in full, but did not keep care^ fully to the original — e.g., in ii. 1 trans- cript has "vo," which he transliterates as "o," thus laying aside a characteristic touch; ii. 4, "chiinnis shjn" he makea "chunnadh sinn," quite an unnecessary de- parture from the original; "ri gal" I keep in common with Cameron, but Macrae seems to have spoken it aa "ri ghal;" iv. 1 and 3 has "undids," which is best given aa "unnad-s," not "annads'"; vii 2, "gavig" of transcript is "gabhadh," not "gabhaidh,'* as in Cameron; viii. 2, "nehiig" Cameron gives as "nearachd," which is neither good poetically nor correct, for final "chd" ia in Macrae written as "ghk;" it clearly meaiLS " 'n eiric," which in North Inverness-shire is as a rule pronounced without the strong- on-breath "glide" before the final c; viii. 3, "àild' a ghruag," Cameron; but as "gruag" is feminine, it must have "i" in genitive; ia
238
ix. 4 Cameron's "bhreitli" will never do, aa ic cannot rhyme with "athair;" x. 1, "Zhoooi bihi no ir naihx" Cameron renders "Dhuinn bidh na ar n-ath'r," but this does not Emit the contaxt, and is not in touch with the poetical flow; "zhoon" ie Macrae's u£ual way of writing "dhaoin', " and three linee previously "athair" is written "ahir," so that "aihr," it is reaeonable to think, means " air(e) ; " Cameron reads "saoraidht' " in ix. 4. In the Bixperscription "i naimb" could bear translitera- tion as "an aim," thus preserving' the dative case of "am," time; "an aim dhaibh dhul dachaidh," as they were about g'oing Lome, I have heard used. In x. 1 "bithidh" in my transliteration is imperative, 2nd plural. Imperatives, 2nd plural in "-ibh" I have never heard used in Gaelic as actually spoken. They are pure comtp- tions. If a vote were taken at the pres'n.t day this idol, which exists mostly in the grammarians' heads, would soon go the way ■Ol all flesh. And it is contrary to the old language. "Leubh" in iv. 3 represents north Inverness-shire pronunciation of "leigh," physician, commonly, "lighiche."
AOX FATHAST DO EINNEADH LEIS. I. 'Hi na cruinne! ta gun chricb Dian mi cuimhneach ort gach trath Na leig air sheacharan mi Air sligh' ta baobhaidh bath.
Seòl mis' sa(n) t-slighe cheirt 'Eigh na(m) feart! ta fos ar cionn A leith aoin losa, do Mhic jMath gach peacadh rianeadh Uom.
239
III.
Math dhom ^ach peacadh gii leir Do rinneadh lioni fein a ghnàth Actus saorsa mi blio loclid Bho is fiosrach thu nochd mar taim.
IV.
Taim-s' nochd gu truagh Taim-s' truaillidii a' m' chorp Ta mo chridhe-sa fo leòn Ta peacadh bàis iar mo lot.
Ach 'fhir dh'fhuilinn bàs ri crann Le piantai(bh) teauu is cam bhreitb Diou-sa mis a mhic mo Dhe Cuir-sa gTi treun as mo leith.
VI.
Cruthaich unnam-s cridhe nuadh Fhir chaidh san uaigh grin lochd Bho is fiosrach thii mar a ta Cridhe-cnàmha na mo chorp.
VII.
Deòniiich dhom aithri gu tràth Na leig-sa lathair mo dhith Bho is tu-s' tobair gach gràis, Fuainig as gach càs mi, 'Ri! 'Ri na cruinne, &c.
Note. — "Bath" — 'Tjaoth;" in ii. 2, "fos,"" not "os," as in Cameron; with Cameron I keep the dative form of "leth," though I do not think it necessary-; v. 1, Cameron has "dh'fhiiiling/' thus taking liberties with "zullin" of the MS.; in vii. 4, "fuanig" — 'tuainig," and is Macrae's form; in same line I take "mj" as "mi," not "mo." I take- it to be what Macrae meant; Cameron's 'mo righ" sounds to me stilted. The "ghom" of the MS. Cameron puts down as "dhomh" throughout. But this is not what
240
"the people say, at least in the whole of North Inverness-shire from the Aird, through Strath t^lass to Kintail, "dhom" is used as frequently as "dhomhi." The graxn- marians never point this out. M. Loth, I think, made an attempt to account for this variation; he noticed the Irish ^ammarians give both forms, and observed it was un- known in Scotland, which is false. When writing down the songs I kept it as I heard it, and as I use it. Only afterwards did I see Loth in the "Reveu Celtique" draw- ing attention to it.
AON EILE RINNEADH LEIS A(N) SGEIOBHAIR.
I. Glòir is moladh dhuit 'Dhe Eibhinn duinn gur tu is Hi Air nimh air talamh a bhos, Gur stòl chos dhuit gach tir.
II. Soilleir dhiiinn cumhachd Dhe Air siubhal na grein' niu 'cuairt, Nuair a thoilicheas mo Righ lompaichidh oirnn teas is fuachd.
III.
'Muir, ge farsuinn a crioch Agus ge lion' i gu brais S aithne di cumhachda mo Righ 'Pilleadh gu crich fein air ais.
IV.
Lionmhor idsge dul na 'ceann As gach gleann tha ma cuairt Gidheadb cha mho a' muir an diu Na 'n ceud la chaidh etruth sa chuan.
241
V.
lomadh glinè iasg- tha sa mhuir C'hruthaich ciunhachd mo righ; Gnè is lioiimhoir ta dhiubh ^
Gnè dheth mo tha dul a dhitli.
VI.
'Leth a niitheas air talamh 'blioa Beathaich coithir chosach air tir Is lioiimhoir' na char a bhàn Ga dh'iomadh lamh th'air a(n) ti.
VII.
Nach faic sibh seo gràsa Dhè E 'freasdal 'n d'eis gack ni Cha mho is leilhid gràs pèin' [?] Air a mbeud da 'n teid a dhith.
VIII.
Ach thugmaid biiidlieacbas do (u) righ Chiòirich dbuinne ni na's leòir Bho ta 'chuiuhachd-sa a sgriobh Soilleir aim an criochaibh 'domhain,
IX.
Is dianmaid aitbri gi\ teann Agus gablimaid an t-àm na 'leum, Nach fiosaichear leinn, sinn dall, Nacb ann air ball thig an t-eng.
X.
Guidlieamaid es' gach aou tràtb Le a spiorad gràidh da ar seòl Far a seinn sinn da gu leir : Moladh dhuit-sa, Dbe, is glòir. Glòir is moladh, &c.
Note. — "Muir" (sea) seems used by Mao rae as both m. and f. The gender of this v/ord varies in other places; in the old lia- guage it was neuter; "char" in vi. 3 is dia- lectal for "chaidh," "chuaidh." Macrae's "neoph" in i. 3 I transliterate as "nimh;" tliis is the dative form as in Keating, who
11
242
often, however, uses the form "neamh," and this variant also occurs in the Highlands, where the phrase, "air ncov" (in heaven) is used; Keatinor's crenitive is "nime," in keeping with the older language. Now, in Fear na Pàirce's Crosanachd, neoph. is in the genitive ca<se, and in the two in- stances there it is bound to have assonance with "sligh' " (way). This is historically a better form than the usual present-day Scotcb Gaelic genitive in "nèimli." The sound used by Macculloch must have been "niv."
AON EILE DO EINNEADH LEIS FO MHULAD A PHEACAIDH.
Ochadoin! a High iia(n) gràs Amhraic orm-s' s mi'n càs cruaidh Mo pheacaidh ta air mo chradh Mar shac a bhais orm cho'n xiaigh
Miad an t-saic a tharlig orm Dh'ihag siad mi gun cholg gun bhrigl Ach bho is tusa Righ na(m) Feart Aotromuich mo shac a risd.
III.
Aotromuich mo shac gu luath Na leig mi an ruathar diiil Oir is trie iad siud da ni' leòn, 'T-Abhersoir, an Fheòil 's a(n) Sannt.
Na peacaidh do rinneas leò Aobhar bròin dom iad gun chrich Ach guidhim air Righ na Glòir' : Furtaich is fòir a leith los'.
243
'Smaclidaich al'n) t-Ablicrsoir treun •Cais^ dhiom fcin an toil-s' a'm' fheò'l Sannt breiigach iomain gach taobh •Cuireenn riu cùl ri mo bheò.
Mo choinhfliurtacli((l) giiii dol eug Ann san phein d'fhàg iad mì; 3J' eàrlaid 'bbi gach n-uair ■Sa ghealladh bhuan siii tliiin; los'.
"'Gealladb sin do tbug mo Rìgb Dhòirt fhiiil gii fìor air a cbrann "Cba chnirear e leis a dbìtb Air gach tì chreideas ann.
■Creidim-s' ann a(m) mac mo Dbè Slànuio-bear na(u) leigbi s ua fann Na ta db'eas{bb)uidb air mo cbrèud "Meudaicb fèin is cnir na cbeann.
Meudaicb mo cbreid6(amb) a ghnàth. Meudaich gràsaai ann mo clirìdb' Meudaicb ra' aitbri gacb aon là Meud' mo gbràdh fos cionn gacb nì.
Meiidaicb a Dbè mo gbràdh "•Rigb na f àidb' ! gràdbaicb mì Teasriiigs' mi às gach càs Bbrìgb bbàis do db'TbuiHnn los'.
losa, bbo is tii-s' Mac mo Dbè, Cuidicb mi, na leig mi dbìtb Do cbnideacbadb orm mar 'fbeum Obeann na(n) treubb na trèig-s' mi.
244
Dòirt orm-s bho neomb a nuas Le uile luathas-a tuillidli gràia Dh.'fh.àgaa m' aithri gu buan Go mo fhuasgladh as gacli càs.
XIII.
Le do Spiorad dian dom iiil Gu cathair chùbhraidh na ceòil Gu cuireaiiu 'sin air chùl M' aobhar tùirs' is m' ochadòin. Ocbadòin! Eigh, &c.
Note. — In viii. 2 "leipt" of transcript may stand for "lèigb," physician, pro- nounced "lenbb;" scarcely for "leamh;" compare "Quri-ijn" in v. 4; "quirrjn," xiii. 3 with "Kuirrijn," 19.16 Eel. Cel., II.
AON EIL' FATHAST DO RINNEADH LEIS.
I.
Corrach do clior a shaoghail Làn do charaibh baoghail, Raoghal nach buan bla[du] Thaobhadh dhuinn cha dlighoar.
II. Oearr a chuairt ga saoibhir leinn Fean- a(n) t-aobhair fliianuis th' againn Glòir is buaidh da ('n) tì thug.
III. Mairg do ghraidh' a(n) ?aoghal seal, Bladh fo bhaoghail eu-tail (eutoil) Mo chjion choUuinn m' aimhleas Maille da m' anajn saoibhreas.
J
245
IT.
Bu sliaoibhrpas bho Dhe nan Dul Ciall agns roa^iui Oil oiad-fathuoh bu ckòir dhiiimi Bhi 'sior ghuidli' Dhe, a(n) t-Athar.
Ach cha'u amliLtidli mar a ta 'N ajnsir a<n diu a(n) comhradJi Nuair a leugluvr sgroad g^ach fir Ni biii four glic mar a(n) aaibMr.
BidLim gun chaiaid, gim treubh Bidhim ac' a(m) fh&aj* coigxeach Cha bliimi' mo ghlòir-s' na ciiead Bho bhli(bh), air m' òir e air m'airgiod.
VII.
■T'.ha'n oil seo nach fuilinn leon Na derimadii duin' dò-bkròn Nì na ciidnno agus a buar TreigidU .inn uile 'n aon uair.
VIII.
Dearnmar aithri dhuit a Dhe Boir do thoiJ a te 't' Fhoola Oir is ceum baoghal a(n) t-àgh Trdigndd a(n) saoghal-s', e oori'ach.
Tl'.is piece roquire^ to be read with, ai^fcention to the aerondairy accent: of the readijig' La in IT. 4 I ain dooibtful; in VI. 1 we should perha^ read càraid, apouae.
246
AOX DO RIXNEADH LEIS A SGEIOBH-
AlK AIR TUITEAM ADHAIMH
A EDEN.
I.
Foam lo moladli dhiiits, a Dhe Eigh! do olunitliaicli tliu gach ui, Dbealbliadh leat an duin' bho tlios Do luathi-eadli an taJmhiuinn mliin.
Tar eia Jiiit ciiith tbobliairt do Na t' iomiaigh fòs fa leitli Lasadli leat-san anail blieo "Cuiimletm a aliròin a stai<jh.
Gu 'n d'fhuairoadk leis smacTid bu leòir Air gach. croutair bha fodli 'fblath Gach ain.m tlioilich o tlioLrt doibh Chiinncas da do shloir-s' c math.
lar aniJiraic dliuit air gach. ere Do rinnoadh leat fein gu cniosd Coiiipanacb. diongmhalt do C.lia'n fliac^s leat fotliast ua 'm iniosj
'Sin do labbair mo Rigk: — Clia diogmhalt dkuinn a fear Bhi na ònaar a miosg- cliàich Dianmar companacli dha-san chean',
VI.
Do f.'lmireadh leia codla trom Air Adhamh s a ckom ri lar lìlmin6.adli leis asna as a thaobh, Di rinn compach diongmhalt da.
347
Laliluvir Adliamh miair a f^liluais E as aa t-suaiii cliiudli cliur ; Cnàmli (Uie m' chiuiniliaibli ta sin Pàirt do m' t'hcòil is fuil do m' ibiiil.
VIII.
Doiiim-s' rint-s a blican Blio 'a anil as au flieer a ta Tieioidli 'teaa.- athair s a mliatliair Leauaidh se ri 'mlmaoi a glmàth.
IX.
Càraidcar an siu faracu Adlwmli a.gu3 a blieaji Ao.n au staid nco-loclidta naomh Gn saor an oar den Eden.
I,e conLas thobkaiit daibh-p fbcin Air mios ga>oii craoibli' mu Ka tliuit Acn KhiaJiiaidh o dhaibh fa dlicòidii (.'laobh eòlais 'nihatli a»us uilc.
Ma ckaithcvar libli de na chraoibh Ta maj- pliem am fhitkn' oirbh Doarbh dliiiibli ^\\ 'n tic^ an t-eugf Oirbh-s' le clieil air a lors?.
Faighear iad an sin fai-aon
Gun eudach air bhitli m'an corp
Gun eòlas 'blii air mliiaiin
De dh' aon g-nè cliaoclilaidh na dli'olc.
Gu bith-bhuan an ain an cor Ka (m) maircadh iad 'sco 'ouan; Ach ghabh ainGflc(an) sholuis aird [?] FariiUid ri Adliamh "u truaijli.
XIV.
Sxi 'n d' imirh am feai- gnu iochd 'Eioohdu na (n)atliracli ueimli' Agii? atreapadar gni h-àrd <Gu seasga.ir ajn bàrr ua craoith'
XV.
"Labbrar as a sin ri Eubh Tar bbith dhi fein a dul seacb: — Nach o-abb tliiis' 'nibios na craoibh' Eonihath 'feum s ia feàrr (?) dreach.
XVI.
Do fbreagair is' : cba'u fbeudar Ig Dia nuiith fein air ar casg' •Jii 'ii s;-bcall e dhiiiiin sfu 'm b' eng Uain b'e s gu feucbmar a bblas.
I,abbair es' mar bu bhcns : — "Cba'n eug dhuibb-p lliein e gu ceart Acb ^beibb sibb tuisfs' is tuille leirs' 31 as 0 3 gu fencb fnbh a bblas."
XVIII.
'Sin dar a chimnaio Eubh
"Mirs na cia-Hbb' do hhi àlninn
Cu 'ni bii mbatb dbaibhs' ebon beatb' e
do tuigs ig leirsinn a thàrsninn.
XIX.
Tbiiof is' lamb ann san cbraoibb Do cboisinn eug agiis bàs Chailicb is' dheth cuid fein Gu 'n tuof i e reisd a db' Adbarah.
Fbuaradh leotb-'s an sin leirs, Lea.sacbadh ceill luich b'fheaird' Tbuig' iad aa bhi gTin eidoadh Ghabh. iad-'s 'reisd as sin nàir.
XXI
Toisichear an sin l-o choi' Ri teumadh agn.s ri faim Diulleaj^an na ciaoibh' fhigis ■<.':hon Nicker agus chon apron.
Siubliladar an sin qii fiainhacli Pli ionn^snidh diomhaireachd nan àiloan Da'm falach romli cliruth s romh eudann Dlie tliusr dliivibhsf" an t-ait.
Cluinueadai- sctJ na dlieigh soo ■Gnth Dlie aef 'eigha^lid sa gliardait Esan ri gahhail ogèìl Co dhoth 't-àit bheil tliu, Adbaimli.
Do fbr?ap:air es' ^u dihlidh: Ghabh mi lomkad fiamb is nàir 'Tià thuig mi bbi gim eidoadb Cb«il mis' mi fliiu t^'.i h-ca(r)lamh.
Co dh' imii3 duit-san an .egenl ■<lu 'u robh. thu chion eididh nochdt' l^o na chaitb tbu 'mbios na rraoibii' Mu tugas fein an àilhn' ort-s'.
XXVI.
Hhean sin thug tbu diiomb-s Dòigh liom-s' gu 'u bliuin i fhein da Chuir iso pàirt dbe a'ni' dhòm-s' Cbàihcb mi gii m' Icon na deigh e.
XXVII.
Do labliair e sin ri Eubh Gu de 'boud-s' do rinn thus'? Bo fhreagair is' gu seimh: 3Iheall an natbair neimh mis'.
XXVIII.
Do labliair e ris an nathair: — Curft thii fathast am miosor clu-eiitair Air do thàrr ni tii gleidheadh Luaitlu-idli mar bhiadli chon teug'mLail.
XXIX.
Acli suidhichidli mise gamhlas Eadar slioclid ua mna s do shliochd-s' Bruthar leatha-s do cheann-s* Cba tianiinii 'sliiiil bho t' theachd-s'.
Do labhair se ritbist ri Eubbr Mumid s gii 'n gheill tbu dla' fheai- na foil! 'N do-bl'ròii, an cràdb s an imnidb Bilhidb do mbiann is breitb do chloinn.
XXXT.
Bitiiidb tn s' bbiiaitb sco pianail Is do miiiaim gii fear do tbaigh Eia^bailticbidb e fos do chionn-s' Ml end 's gii 'n d' icbeadb tbii na mbeas.
XXXII.
Do labbair e an sin ri Adbamb 'Ghutb do mbnatb' la bba tu umbailt Gu 'u bbristeadb leat-san air m'àitbn' S ju 'n chaitbeadJi leat pairt de 'n ubhall^
XXXIII.
Mallaicbidli mi air do sgàth-s' 'N talamli, bithidb as duit leitheacb; 'N do-bhròn càilicbear gacb tràth leat T'aran fad laitbe do bbcatba.
XXXIV.
Drisean mar an ciand is cluaran De db'fbhsas sniis duit faraon Agns cailicbear gu triiasfb leat De luibbibb snaracb ua raon.
251
XXXV.
Mar sin am fallus do gliruaidh Do hliiiaidbichear Icat do bhcatlia Ach gu pill thu dli'irtnnsiiidh 'talmhainn Bho 'n dhealbhadh tu 'n tiis do latha.
XXXVI.
Fuadicliear iad a Eden *N d'fhuaireadh leo eiblincas is ait-eas Ach g-baVih se trnas riu lo cheil Do riuu daibli eiidacli do cliracnibh.
XXXVII.
Caireadar an sin cherub
Eadar iad fein is an atliair
Ma biodh iad-s' mar e fein deth
Le feuchainn air cbraoibh na beatha.
XXXVIII
Ach sin nn agcnl mar limit Adlia.mli Le laigs' Eubh is innleachd (n)athracli La blia iad duinn na 'n sinnsir Tha 'm peacadh-s' ['n] ar n-inntinnibh. am falach.
XXXIX.
Ach 's oibhiiin diiinn fh'n [?] an gamhlae C'heangladh eadajr an da shliochd-s' Criosd bhi againn mar choannard Gu 'n ceaniisiiicheadh e fear gu 'n iochd dhuinn.
Gloir is moladh do Dhia 't-Athair Chum ruinn fathast gacli ni 'gheall Cho fad Ì3 beò mi sa bhcatha-s' Seinnim dhuit le aighear fonn. Fonn le moladh, &c.
252
AON A EINNEADH LEIS AN SGEI-
OBHAIE AIE LATHA A'
BHEEITHANAIS.
Smaoineamar aa la fa dheoidh (Is) coir dhuinn a dhol eug; Smaoineamar peacaidh na b-òig'; Smaoineamar fòs na thig na dheigh.
Smaoineamar na thig na dheigh Gur e la na mòr bhreith; Gach ni rinneadh leinn san fheòil Cha'n fhaodar na's mo a chleith.
in.
Cha'n fhaodar na's mo a chleith
Math no sathi a rinneadh leinn;
'N uair chi sinn Britheamh nan slogli
Teachd òirun sna neoil, tromp' ga seirm.
'N uair a sheirmear an trompaid mhòr Cruiimicheadar na slòigh ma seach; Gacb neacli a thàrlas diubh beò Caochlaidh iad (an) dòigh 's am beachd.
Caochlaidh muir agiis tir Caochlaidh gach ni as nuadh Liobhraidh an talamh suas, Oacli neach chaidh ann san ùir.
Gach neach a chaidh ann san ùir Eiridb iadsan 'n an nuadh chorp; Is gabhaidh gach anam seilbh S a choluinn cheilg an robh chlos(d).
VII.
Nior chlos(d) au sin do na cliuan Ghiaisoadar e fa leth; Na blLàthadh bho thoiscach tira, Liobhraidh se air cliionn na breith.
VIII.
Breith bheir buaidh air gach breith, Cha Bhreitbeamh leth-bhreitheach
High. Shuidheas air cathair na breith S a bheir ceart bhreith air gach ti.
Gach ti a bha cur ri olc
Tearbar an nochd air an lairah chli;
Càirear air a laimh dheis
Gach ti bhios deas air a chionn.
Gach ti (bh)ios deas air a chioim Labhraidh ('m) Breitheanili riu gu ceart: Bho'n is biiidheann bheannuicht sibh, Maitheam-sa dlmibhs' 'n 'ur peac'.
XI.
Maitheam-sa dhnibhs' 'n 'nr peac' Gabhaidh-p' seilbh cheart 's an rio'chd Chomharraich m' Athair bho thòs Dhuibh-san ann an glòir gun chrich.
Oir iar bhi dhomh-sa fo thart Fo fhuachd, fo acras chum bais ('M) priosan gun treòir gun neart Dh'fhuasgail sibh ceart air mo chas.
XIII.
Iar bhi dhomh a'm choigreach cein S a'm "thraveller" anns gach bail' Fhreasdail sibli dhomhsa 'n am fheum Cha robh' ar deagh-bheus ^ ?) dhom gann.
254
XIV.
Ach freagraidh iadsan am Breitheamh. ■Cuin' cliuiuiaiceamar sibh. fo tbai't Fo fliuachd, fo acras, chum bàis S a db'fhuasgail sinn do chas ceaxt?
XV.
Blieirim-sa dearbhadli dhuibh Dh'fhxiasgail 's guv ann duibh nacli olc Mheud s g-ii'n d' riiineadh leibbee dhiol Ei piautaibh mo bhràithre bocbd-s'.
XVI.
Sin labliraidh ('m) breitlieamli os n-aird Eiu fhuair ait' air a laimbi chli Imichidli uamsan gn bràth Dh'ionnsuidli càs is cradh gun chrich.
XVII.
Far am bi('n) t-Abliarsair am pein Aingle sa chleir air fad Mheud 's nach d'rinneadh leibhse dhiol Ki piautaibh mo bhraithre lag-s'.
XVIII.
Imichidh iad so gu truagh
Dh' Ifrinn fhuair am bi fuachd is teas,
Dhoibh-san ge duilioh au Ccàs
Nior faigh iad bàs auu am feasd.
XIX.
Ach imicliidh buidheanu a ghràidh A fhuar ait air a laimh dheis (Do) fhlaitheanasi nam flath feile O ! eibhinn doibh-san an treis.
XX.
O! eibhinn doibh-san an treis Eibhinn doibh-san gach ni chi Eibhinn bhi'n cathair nan gras, Eibhinn bhi lathair a Bhreithimh.
255
XXI.
Tàbliinn bhi lathair a Bhreithiiiih, Eibhiun a sbiocliai' s a bliuaiuh; ■Cha'n fhaodar a chur au ceill Meud eibhneis an àite bliuain.
Eibhueas e iiach faca sùil Eibhneas e nach cuala cluas Eibhneas e nat-h teid air cliul Dlioibli-san d'au toirear mar dluiais.
Duais is mo na gach duais Ta sliuas air nèamh aig mo Rigli Eibhiun do gach neacb a ghhiais Air chor 's gu'm biiaidliichear ì.
XXIV.
Air clior s givni biiaidliichear ì Sniaoinmmar air crìch an sgeòil; Smaoineamar ar peacaidh bàtli Smaoineamar an là fa dbeoidh.
Smaoineamar an là, &c.
X.B. — Tliis piece has been admirably transliterated by Professor Mackinnonl It has been of the greatest help to me in attempt- ing: the other parts of the MS. In North Inverness-shire c/iionn (verses ix. and x.) is often sounded as chinn, heaice the rhymes here. In verse xv. MS. has rijws — ruibhs'.
256
GNE CHUMHA DO EINNEADH LEIS
AN SGRIOBHAIR AN AM DO A
MHNAOI BHI'N EIGINN.
I. RÌ nan Abstol dian seasamh.
Gu làidir leinn Dion siuu am i'easd le do fbreasdal
Gun chall gun dhith Bho is tu 'cleasaiche bkeir greasad
Slaint a tinn Beir le do dlieas laimk gun fheasd
As a cliàs sinn.
II. E,i na cruiune s gach uile
A ta iodk na giirein Da leir gach duime s gacli luulad
Dli'tlias orra lem Bho 's ann uuuad-s' tha ar uiuinighia
Gu bràch nar n-earb(s) Dion ainu gun urraidk bho chumnard
An daria h-eug.
Athair na soillse do chruthaich'
Maighdmn' is mnài Gur ]eat>sa mar oighreachd gach neach.
Is to t'eineachd gu brack; Ack 'bhrigh s gu blieil cuibluneas
Alar riuo-s' gu saoibhir a ghnàtk Matk dhomh-s' 's mi ieumack
Mo choimh-leapaiche oidhch' agus la.
IV.
Ack bko taim cka lobkta
S gu'n tkoill mi an-skocair gack tràtk Tkaobk gkniomkn(ra) corporra
Is dearbk ckoisinn a bas Ga taim-sa goint'
Is is' loit' air a cràdk Na mu k-è mo tkoil-s
Ack do thoil-s' bkios diant ann sa okas.
257
Mhexid s gar iu-sa fear-lighicli
Thug Lazarus rithist bbo'n bhas Agus uiglieau. laria
Tar eis di blii re air a lar Tha do glirasau cho brighor
S a bha e da' taobh-s 'sin fatbast "S anu de do thaobh-san, a Thighearn
Tha ino dhiul-s ri slighe na slaint.
Cheaun slighe gach slaint
Se do ghiasan a thraghas gacb muir Gur tu theasraig na bràitlire(an)
As an anihuinu bha gràiueil ri 'cur Bho siad ar iieacamian laidir
Tha 'tarruioin gach càs air ar muin Bidh mo mhuinighin is m'eàrlaid
Ann mo Shlànaighear bàigh, Mac Muir',
Mhic Muir' s a Thrianaild
Do dh'ihuilinn pian agus creuchd A leith gach aoin Chriosduidli
Ghabhas aithri na 'dhiomhnaibh-p fhein Mheud s gur tu-s rimi dioladh
Le t'thoil mhath 'uar gniomliaraibh breig Math dhuiuu gu siorruidh Ar peacannau diorahair gu leix.
Gur h-iad mo pheacanna mòr'
Fàth mo bhròin gach là Cha'n iomairt luchd-foill [foil?]
Rinn mo leòn no mo chradh, Ach misg is striopaclid is pòit
Rinn mi' m' ògalachd bhàth Mar ri bristeadh an Domhnuich
Is raionnan mora do ghnàth.
lla
258
IX.
Guàth. leiun bhi ri mionnan
Nach iomraich ar creud Ei sannt agus gioiiach
Ann an ainid da chèil Gun nàir' gun athadli
Ri blii labhairt na brèig' Ach. dian trocair òimn fatliast
Bho (is) tu-s ar n-atbair, ar n-eud.
Acli end agus atliair
Tha'n an catliair na ceòil Amhraio òirnn bho do fhlathaa
Thobhair mathanas duinn Ann ar sannt anu ar gabliail
Ann 'n athais ar beòil Ann ar brèig ann ar n-ainbli-fhiach [?]
Ann 'n aighear ar n-òig'.
Truagli trnagh cor na li-òig'
Caothacli mòr i is dìtli-cèill, Gabhar leisgeul sin domhs'
Na mo dhòbheairtibh-p fhein, Liuthad bàirligeadh so-ghlic
Chnir do gblòir-s' dhom 'n cèill Le freasdalaibh dhe'n t-seors'
Do dh'òrduich Mac Dliè.
Mhic Dliè bho 's ann unnads
Tha ar muinigliin gu teann Mheud s g-ur tu-sa rinn fulang
Dhòirt t'fhuil air ar ceann; Chì thu f èin a Mhic Muir'
Fàth ar mulaid san am Dion sinn bho chunnart
Gach uile dhaoin' fann.
259
Mar thugadk leat lonas
4 iasg- mor a mhuir bhàtht' Mar sliaoradh leat loeeph
Gun leòn as g-ach càs Bbo imirt mnutha seòlt',
Miann a feol' air a crhdh, Dion sinu bho ar dò-bheairt
l3 bho dhòruinn a' bliàis.
Clia'n o bas cliuirp pbeacaich.
Tha mi faicinu bho m' chrìdh'. No iomairt mo chhirdean
Gad sharuich iad mi; Ach fhir nach beir tragliadi
Air do ghrasan a chaoidh Mheud s gur tu rinn ar ceannach
Na leig-s' ar n-anam a cMaoidh.
Ach nuair sgaras au t-anam
Bho na cholluinn gam bhrigh Na tagair thus òirnn
Gach dolaidh rinn sinn; Ach fosgail-sa dorus
Thre' cathrach do 'shith Dbuinn am fochair nan aingeal
S gu ma beaunuicht thu, Ri! Ei nau Abstol, &c.
Macrae's Ej nj nesple, i.e., Ei nan AspaJ,
agrees with Munster, in Ireland, where rhej
say, e.g., Cre nan| Aspal, i.e., Creud max Abstol.
260
AON DO RINNEADH LEIS A SGRIOBHAIR,
I.
Och ochòin a Dlie Ttuagh mo sgeiil an noclid Fath. aithri dlioni choii m'eug Mhend 's a riun mi loclid.
Aig mheud 's a rinn mi loclid Cha leir dom an t-ochdamh pàirt 'T-Athair da mo dhion Bho m' pheacaidh diomliair bais.
III. Mo pheacaidh diomhair bais Orm mar cliàs maraou; O Athair nan gràs Aithreacli gach ni rinn.
IV.
Aithreach leithid 's a rinn, Dheth do reir-s o righ Miann mo cholluinn chriadh Gu b'e riamh mo ghniomh.
Gu b'e riamh mo ghniomh Re linn dom bhi òg Connas agus stri Striopachas is pòit.
Strìopachas is pòit Mionnan mor gun sta Bristeadh na la naodmh B'e mo ghaol-sa ghnàth.
261
B'e mo ghaol-sa ghnhth Mo thoil feiu STOO dliòigli 'G imeachd a(m) bàthai(bh) Ann a(ii) là(thaibb) m' òig-.
VIII.
Ach sin mar cliaitlieas m' òig Ocb oclioiu, a Dbe Nuair tbàineas clio'n aois Cba cV chaocbla' mi beus.
IX.
Cba d' cbaocbail cuid dbe bbeus Ki mo tbreig mi t'olc, Oir ann am miadbon m'aois Cba lon-chraos mo cborp.
Cba lon-cbraos mo cborp Aig giouacb 's aig sannt Farmad ri ciiid cbaicb, 'T-airgead gur e b' anns'.
'T-airgead a b' anns' Liom-s' no gacb seud. Gad tbairlinn e gun cbòir Mo dbòigb cba bu leir.
XII.
Clia bu leir dbomb 'choir Ach mo dbòigbeas fein Mo sbeòl rinn mo leòn Ocb, ocbòin, a Dbe.
Ocb, ocbòin, a Dbe Truagb mo sgeul o Rigb Cba do tbreig mi 't-olc Acb na tbreig a(n) t-olc mi.
262
XIV.
Oha d'thrèig a(ii) t-olc mi
Ach na threig mo neart
Air olc a chur a(n) gniomli
'S moid a(m) miadh a(m) peac'.
XV.
'S moid a(m) miadh a(m) peac' Nach d' chaitheann mo lon-cbraos Tuigs' bhi agam dhò LÒ mhiadhon m' aois.
XVI.
LÒ mhiadhon m' aois
Ni mi m'fhaosaid ceart
Eiut-s' o righ na glòir
Bho 's tu mo threòir s mo neart.
XVII.
Bho 's tu mo threòir s mo neart Teasrig mi bho'n bhàs Glileusas gach neach Bhios i^acach fos cionn chaich.
XVIII.
Thaim peacach fos cionn chaich Cha'n ."vicheadh mi mO' ghiamh Thobhair, athair na(n) gras Baigh dhom a(s) leithe Chriosd.
Bàigh dhom a(s) leithe Chriosd Thaim 'griosad ort Mheud 's gu'n d'rinn e diol A leith gliiamh is lochd.
XX.
A leith ghiamh is lochd Gach peacach aithreach thinn Se dh'fhnilinn a bas Shiol Adhaimh bu bhinn.
Shìol Adhaimh bu bhinn
Bàs dh'fhuilinn thu
Mhic òigh iia(n) pfràs
Cuir Ei' aisaidlicaclid air chùl.
Cuir m' àrsaidheaohd air cliùl Dian-sa m' iùl gii beacbd Air sliofhe nan gràs Fàg mo chràbbadh ceart.
Fàg mo chràbb;idh ceart Meoid' o Dhè, mo pfhràidh, Gach easbhuidli lli'air mo chreui Leasaich fèin gach là.
Leasaich. fèin gavh là Mi arm do ghiàsan, los'! Math dhom na rinn tni òg Treòraicli mi 'iia m' aois.
Treòraich. mi 'na m' aoi3, Cafchail-sa nio bbeus, Tboir aithri dliora na's leòir Seal inu'n teid mi eiig.
Seal mu'n teid ini eng Dian mo rèit, o rìgh S gu fiosTaicbinn fadheòidh Gu'n deÒBuich thu dhom sìth.
264
XXVII.
•Tru dfònuicli thu dhom sìth S gu minich thu gu reidh Na peaid'-.l.'i nun mo leòn Och, ockoin, a Dhe. Och. ockòiu, &c.
àrsaìdheachd— inveteracj-, as e.g., in sin : arsaidheachd bhur peacaidhean.
In XIV. i raijwe, undoubtedly— miadh ; the adj- niiadhail is pronounced " miavail " in Iv'orth Invemesa. shire, and in many districts.
CEOSANACHD DE GHNE CHOMHLU- ADAIE EADAR A CHOLANN SAN T-ANAM, DO RINNEADH LEIS AN SGEIOBHAIR.
I.
a' CHOLANN.
Cliualas guth air uilaaduiun S mi m' cliadal a'm' òuar.
AN T-ANAM
Cha'n i 'choir a th' agad Bhi laiohi" fad Di-Domhnuich.
CHOIi —
Dh'eirich mi gu h-agach
Na m' aigne ma b'fhiòr dhomhs
Co seo ni tagair orm
Leis an teagasg nòs.
Thuirt guth s e freagair —
T-ANAM —
Mis' an t-asam uasal Na gabh fiamh na eagla Romh mo theagasg nos [nuas].
IV.
CHOL
Se làn do bheatha-s, aiiam lonmhiiinn loam do chaidreabb Thoir dhviiiin pairt dhe d' sheanchus Gu'n Icanmluiinn air do clireideamh.
T-ANAM —
Shaoilinn-s gn'm b'fhiòr sin Ach fiamliacli mi romh d'chaidreabh Dhleasad an d'u do Chriosduidh Caochladh gniomhs blii agad.
VI. CHOL
Gu de'n guiomh a f agam
S mi'm chadla gu comhuard
Gn beil mi sgith Ian airt(u)eil
Bho sheachduin jros an Domhmacb-s.
Tliu fein is fatb da t' airteal Bho sheachduin gos aji lò sin, Choluinn bhreugaich pheacaich Triiagh an t-àite tasgaidh dhomh-s thu.
Ach is fheudar dhom bhi umhailt Do na chumhachd is àird. Gad tha mo leabaidli cumhang Ach an guidk am bàs thu.
IX.
Cha'n e sin fath m' acain
Ach mar chleachdar leat an Domhnacb
Gu càirich thu mi'n lutharn
Far a bi cumli' is doruimi.
12
266
Sin do fhreagair mis' S mi clisg^eadh) gu h-earluath : 'S aim is cosmhuil tliiisa nis Hi fear misg is caarain.
T-ANAM
Cholluinn a cholluinn Shaoil leat g'u'm b' tliu fein mi Cha 'n eil misg no canraii orm <jrur nàir' dhut bbi breugacli.
XII.
Ach is minig a bha thu-a ■Gu globhtach gu sar-mhath, Mise staigh an tuigs Gr iniise dhut bhi gràineil.
Oad bhiodh tu 'n eireaclidaa Dhe bu dearail domhs e ■^'ha b'fhearr leat uair eile dhi Ach deireadh la Di-Domhnuich.
XIV. CHOL —
-Do fhreagair mi fos ii-iosal e — €ha'n fhiach leara thin do chomhradh Our truagh an deireadh coramuin duit JBhi soillearachd mo dhòbheairt.
Ach mas ann mn bhristeadh Domhuuich Tha 'chontrachd a t'aire-sa Cha deantar 'ghniomh nam foghnadh Mo dheoin aun sau bhaile-sa.
287
XVI.
T-ANAM
Tha 'chontrachd onn gTin amharus Mar chaithear leat-s an Domhnach A eh air a mlueud da labhair thu "Clia'n aobhair airidli dhomh-a e.
XVII.
S gTi'n ludhaig' Dia eia latha dhut Chaitheamh ri do shaothair; DW òrduich © gun amharus La diubh chumail naomha.
XVIII. CHOIi —
"NaCn) seoladk tu dhomlis Mar is coir domh cMeachdadh Clia bhristiim e le m' dhòbheairt Da mo dheòin am feasda.
XIX.
T-ANAM
Sheolainn sin duits Na('n) tuig-eadh tu bhuam e Dhiiisgeadh tu sa mhaduinn Bhiodh t'aigfn© saor bho fhuathas.
XX.
Ann an am dhut eirigh
B' fheumail dh.ut do chaisrig'
Ann an ainm na Trianailt
'Na chriòchnuicheadh do bhaist(n)eadh.
XXI.
Nuair chuireadh tu ort t'eudach Mar b' aoidheil do dh'fhear aitim Rachadb tu air do ghliiinibh Dhianamh tiiirs a leith do pheacaidh.
XXII.
Ghuidheadh tu Dia 'n t-Athair
A leith Mhic losa
E dheònachadh' mathanais
Ann a'd shath is t'uile ghniomhar(aibh).
268
Shiubliladh tu gun seacbaran Ma sheachnadh e am dit' Dh' eisneachd tuille teagaisgf Ann an eaglais do chill sgire.
XXIV.
Ann aan ghabhail ratliaid duit Na labhair acli an fhirinn Bidli dearbh gu'm faigh tliu ann Do fliradharc luach do sliaotli'r.
XXV.
Acli na bi-sa dichuimhneacli Ma chitear leat na boclida Air ni thobhairt an iasad daibli Mar dli' òrduich Criosd is Ostla.
Nuair tliieid thu steach a'n eaglais Air fear t'theagnisg bi cnimlineach Na biodh t'inntinn niearanach Tlioir aire air gach ni chhiiun tbu.
XXVII.
Dar thig thu macli an deighidb so. Mar a rogha leat bbi t' ònar, Tagli-s' an comunn lagliail Na tagli luclid na pòit'.
XXVIII.
Bi furanach oairdeach
Eia na bratliaraibli ceart
Na gabli' fiamh no nàir'
Gad dhian' tliu càcli a sheachnadh.
XXIX.
Siiibhail rithist gun seacharan Dhachaigh dh'ionnsuidb t' theaghlacb Gach ni chualas leat-aa Aithris daibh is meamhraich
269 xxz.
CHOL —
DùPsfadh ann mo leabaidh dom S aJi cadia air mo bhualadh Sin an sgeul mar thachair Dh'aithris mi mar chuala.
EUINN DO EIXNEADH LEIS AN SGRIOBHAIR AN AM AN D' FHOG- EADH RIGH SEUMAS VIImh A SASUNN, ANNO 1688.
I. Giir feallt carail an saoglial Gu meall e barail nan saoidhean Saoilim-s' gur fior an sgeul
Blio na dh.'dlièirich. do Righ Bhreatumi.
II. Ga b' mhor a shaiblireas sa mhùirn "Style" fòs s a diià chrìiin 'Shliiaghraidh uile sa tkreis Dh'fhògradli leo e gu mi-dheds.
III. Ga b' mhor a thobhairt s a dhnais Da chomhairle agns da shluagh Do dh'ioc iad fbeile le tais Eitigh an sgeul ra aithris.
IV.
IVIac a pbeatliar fath. an euchd 'N co-cheangal ris air dha ghleus A chliamliuinn, 'fheoil agus fhuil,
Dh'imich da dheòin gn 'chrùn a ghuin.
V.
Gad thaim-s" 'cur an ceill Do dhiomb' dhuinn, fior sgeul Ni blieil fios air bitli cia dheth)
Aobhar Dhe no fath a dhiombaidh.
270
Ach ghreasadh ('n) Eì air mheud a threis- Bbuainn bhrigh cothruim coingeia Gun 'ruin' leigeil fa sgaoil No 'dhaoin. 'mhealladh le daoi-ghlòir.
VII.
'Shlviaghraidh uile chumail oeart Dò-chreid[imh] fo Ian smachd Reir s mar theagasg Criosd gu beaclid Agus tar eis theist Ostla.
VIII.
Sia ciad bliadhma tar eis eug Bha bhriathra dhuinn uile reidh Leanmar na ceumanna ciand S na eignicheamar am focla.
As sin tuigfir mar a dall Gur aon slighe 'chosnas thall; Cha d' fhoghlum iad riamh. an sgoil Tboil thoirt do gach. aon fhear.
Ach. gach [bu] fhear-brithimh mi sa ohùis Th'eadar Ri Breatunn s a' Prìonna', Dearbh tlia ar peacaidh cko curt, Sgiùrsar sinn a leith na cairbh.'.
XI.
Ni ioghmadh sin 'theachd oirnn Uamliarr' [?] Mnn gach scan, dhall gach
nuadh. Do bhreugnaich sinn uile 'n teist Bheir sinn gun cheist na h-eith'-mhi-
onnan.
XII.
Caochlaidhi sinn mar chaochlas struth, Seumas an de ('m) Prìonnsa 'diu; Dearbh leam, bho sgeul duthair
B' airidh' 'ti bu dual no ('n ti) thainig.
271
XIII.
Ach ofuidheamaid as an leith gu teann lad bhi faraon air aon rami Go glòir Dhè is losa 'n ceaom Chor s gu'n diant an toil.
XIV.
Dianmar bròin agois traieg
Mu leaJiar leinn [?] na mor reacM
Le ùmhladh do Dhia s gach càs
Air ar glùinibh, 'ghnàth gTi soilleir.
XV.
Treigmid farmad is uabhar cuirp Treigmid mi-run is mor ghluit Treigmid fuar clireidimh gun bhlàth Treigmid gu bràch bhi foilleil.
XVI.
larrmaid siochamli, iarrmaid iochd larrmaid fuidh Dlie ['n] tiis bhi glic, Iarrmaid creideamh, treigmaid sannt Blio is feallt carail an saoghal. Gur feallt caraiJ, &c.
GNE GRAIN DO EINNEADH LEIS A SGRIOBHAIR 'SAN AM CHIAND ANNO 1688.
Ta saogbal-sa carail
Tlia e daondan da'r mealladh gu geur;
Liuthad caochladh th'air talamh.
Is daoiu' air an dalladh le bhreig;
Chreic pairt diubh-s' an anam
S do chaochlaidh. iad barail chionn seud Fhir chaidh ann sa chrannaig Dhòirt t'fhuil da ar ceannacb
O ! aoin Ei?h Mhoire beannuich nar creud.
O' Athair nan gràs
Na failing sinne 'nar cruas
Ach amhraic òirnn tràth
Le tlàths o d'fhlathas a nuas
Mar thug thii le d' mhìcraild
Clann Israel gun dhìoljhair sa chiian Dion t'eaglais da rireadh (Ga ghuidh le luclid a mì-ruin)
Bho 'sgTÌob-s ta teachd mu' cuairt.
III.
'S còir dliì-s' a bin umha^lt
Gad tba i fo dhubh aim san am;
Gur ii-iad ar peacaniian dubhar"
Tharruing oirnn pudhar is call;
Ach deanmar trasg agus cumha
Eis an fhear dli'fhàg an t-iubliair sa chrann, Chon s' gu'n ceannsuich e 'bhnidheann Chleachd an. eu-coir as duibhe
Mar tha breugan is luigliean is feall.
IV.
Dhe churanta làidir
Dh'àlaich inuir agus tir
Tha thu faicsinn an drasda
Mar db'fhàiling am prabar-s' an Righ
Ach reir s mar thachair do Dhàidh
Nuair ghabh Absolon fkth air go dhith
Beir dhacliaigh 'na dhall leat
Dh'aindeoin am pàirtidh Nar Righ chon àite l& sith.
V.
Fear eil' 's math is eòl dom
Tha'n gest uair air fògaireadh 'na phairt
Sliliochd nan cuireannan seòlta
Da thogradh s nach òbadh an spàirn;
Ga tamull leinn bhuainn thu
Cha toireamar fuath dhut gu brach;
S ann da 'r seòrs bu dual sin
Eatar mhith' agus uaislean EM air do dheas-laimh an cruadal s an càs.
273
VI.
Triiagh nach fhaicinn thu teachd Mar b'ait le mo chridh san am Far ri Seuiiias Ic buidhcanii Nach f^cill a dh'iubhair nan Gall; Tba'n drasda ro bliuidlieacb ilheud s gu'n t-huidhich iad feall
Le'n seòladh s le'n uidheam.
Ann sna mòdaibh as duibhe Cbiiir fa dheòidli sibh air siubbail do'n Fhrainsr.
Acb thamar an dùiofh Gu'n caochail an ciirsa seo fothast, Gu'm faic mi le m' sbùilibb Bbi sgiùrsadh gacb tnu bba sna moid; S gach Baron beag cùbacb 'Mhealladb le caraibb s le lùban Prionns* Or;
Gbeibb Mac Cailein air thus diubb
Db' aindeoin a chùirte 'Galair bu dùthchasacb dbò.
VIII.
B'e 'dbùthcbas bho sheanair
.?}ii daondan r'a mealladb gach ti
Clia b'ihearr e 'thaobli athar
Ga b' mhor a mhathas bho 'Righ;
^la 'se seo an treas gabliail
Thug eug ohuaith 'bhathar gu pris;
Le niaighdinn sgoraidheach sgathail Cha d 'cheannsuicheadh aisith; Ged thuit thu cha'n athais duit i.
lomadh Tighearn is "post"
Nach eol domh-s' a nis 'chur an dan
Tha'n drasd gu moiteil
~Le phrabar gu Iwsdail a' d' phairt;
274
'S ann diubh ein Cullodar
Granntaich is Rosaich a chàil Nuair thionndas an rotha Chon annsachd bho tlioiseach
Gur teaimta dhaibh 'chroicb 'miosg chàich..
X.
Ach fhearaibh na h-Alba
Ga deal(bli)acb. libb 'dràsd 'n ur cùirt
Gad leught' sibh bho'r leanabachd
S liiio là 'glièil sibli a dli' Fhergus air thus
Tlnuit gach fine le toirmeasg
Do threig s nacli robh earbsach do'n chrùin.
Acli seo t-eallach a dhearbhas
Cur h-airidh an seanchas — Gu 3 eirich mi-sliealbhar da'n cliù.
Cha clia'n mi na'e lèir dhom
Ei 'ur maithibh, ri'r Clèir, ri'r pòr
D'èi3 'ur mionnan a Sliearlas
Gu seiseamh. sibh-p fhèin 'n aghaidh deòia
S an t-oighre dliglieach na dh.' èia
Tliuit nis go Rigli Seumas r'a bheò
icli dh'aindeoin 'ur lèirs'
ja mòr 'ur cuid leugh' Ar 'iom-s gu'n 'reub sibh a chòir.
. . . air còir dMricli
Le masladh. na dhìobair do phàirt
Bba uair a staid ìosal
S tha air dìreadh le uchd matk an dràsd;
Seann fhacla s gur fior e
Bha rìamh. eatar Chrìostuidhean gràidh
Gur miosa na ana-spiorad
Duine mi-thaingeil Ghabb. na's leòir dhiubb-s an aim air m cbàs.
275
Càs eile nach fas' Dli' èirich mar fhaean sa ruaig-s' Chlauu fèin blii iia'n iaic Do gacli nea<;b tha 'cur as da niu cuaii-t; Do thrèig iad s cha'n ait daibh 'N cuigeainh fàithu' bha 'cliasgadh an t- sluaigli ;
'N aghaidh nàdur a bbeart seo
Do neach 'gkabli baisteadh Ann an ainm nan trì pearsa(n) ta shuas.
XIV,
Acli fhir 'dh'oibrich gach mìoraild
Eha miosg Chlainn Israel blio thus
Nach soilleir an giamh. seo
Dh'aon ueacli gliabh 'Chriosdaclid mar
glixunnd ; Bbo laigh geilt agua fiamb. mor Air gacb Marcus, gacli larl s gach Diùc
Caag fèin an iorghalt-s
Mas toil leat-s a Dhia e Mu tiiit sinn fo fhiabhrus do ghniiis.
XV.
Is mor dh'èireas dhut, a Bhreatninn
S nach d'fbaodadli do tbeagasg na am,
Cha lèir dhut fàth t'eagla
Gu'n thamiing ana-creidimb ort call;
Bho'n là mhurtadli libh Searlas
Tha fhuil-sau ag eigheachd gu teann
Gabh aitbri a t'eucoir Tboir dbachaigb Righ Senmas Neo thig sgiùrsa bho Dhè ort a nail.
'Ghaidliealu gasda
Na laighidh fo mha^ladb. sa chùis
Ach faighear sibli tapaidli
S Eigh Seumas na thaic air 'ur cùl
276
Ga ta Uilleam an Sasunn Na geillibh (sic) a feasd da chrùin Liom is cinnteach mar thachras Thaobli innleacLd a bheairtean Gu pilltear e dhacliaigh gam chliù.
Na ma h-ioghnadli libli-p fhein seo
S gun ghlac es' an encoir air clieaun
Bha "manifesto" ro eitigh
Nacli faic sibh gur breugack a chainnt
S gach gealladh do rinn se
Do Shasunn do threig se gu teann Tha iad nis 'n aghaidh) cheile Nuair thuig siad an reusan
Acli na tha Pliresbiteriatnich ann.
Na ma lugliaid' 'ur misneachd
Gu robh iad seo bristneach na ciirs
Fo sgàile "religion"
B'e 'n abliaist s an gliocas blio tliiis
Co dliiubh. alach a nise
Nach . . . le mi-ruin
Ach tha'n àite le fios dliuinn Ged dh' fhàiling righean trie iad
Aig gach àrmunn bha tiorcadh) a chrùin.
XIX.
Gu ma h-amhluidh seo dh'eireas
'Mhaithibh Alba s na h-Eire san am
Til a 'coitheamh le Seumas
S nach d'amhraic iad fein air an call;
Ach b'fheall am bathais s an eudann
Fo gach neach bha ri eiginn s ri feall Ghabh a "test" bha eitigh Eatar mhaithibh is Chleire
'Thoir an anman dha'n eucoireacb mheallt.
Ach tba mi dall na mo bharail Mar ceannsnich Dia 'cliarachd-sa trath S mar mheaKar leis barail 'Clileamhnais fliuair alloil s^un bhlàth; Is mairg a tlioisich mar ealaidh Athar-ceile 'chiir ealamh bho bhhir
Ach ^eo òrdupfh nam balach.
Far ri dòchus nan cailleach Sau t-saoghal chruaidh charail-s' a tà.
Ta 'saoghal-sa carail, &c.
Note. — Y. 2 — "Gest iiair," a widely- spi-ead form of "an coart uair;" iii. 8 — - "Luighean," pi. of "lugh," oath, also "liighadh," eg., "thug e highadh mor as;" XX. 7 and vi. 3 bave "far," a Kintail variant of "mar:" Macleod & Dewar's Dictionary also notes this form ; i. 8 and iv. 8 have "nir." i.e., "nar," our: the form "nar" exists in Ireland, e.g., "seo na fir a ghoid nar gcuid ha (Zeitschrift f iir Celtische Philologie) ; ii. 157 — O. Irish — -"nathar," e.g., "cechtar nathar," each of us : it is cognate with L. "nostrum."
f
278
'^ORAIDH CHAIDH A CHUR AM MEADRACHD DAIN DH'IONNS- UIGH NAN UAISLE GAIDH- EALACH BHA ANN AN LA RAOIN RUAIRIDH.
(July 27tb, 1689).
^^i
Ciad soraidh do na h-uailsibh Leis na bhualadh an cruinn-ord, Ann an la Raoin Ruaraidh Romli fuathas mor-dhuiuionii; Gur fad la chualas Cha blii buaidh nilior gun clninnard Bha 'bhuil ann san uair sin €hoisinn cruadal duibh unoir.
II. ■Chuaidh sgeula do dk' Eire Mar dli' eirich an la ud Choisinn cliù agns ceutamb Do cheudaibh do Ghaidheil; Cha bu leth. 'cliuid bròinein San Olaind ra aireamh Mar tharladh d'an mhòr-sliluagb S mar dh'fhògradh "Mackay" ann.
III. Blia maithibli CMainn DòmliuuiU Le 'n cònlainn san am seo Mac-Il-Sheatliain is òig-fhear Sir Eoghann s Clann Chaanroin Dul an coinneamh an fhuathais "Claver" suairc© mar clieaunard Gun e dithis ma triiiir ann €ha d' dhiiilt e "advance."
IV.
Air "Mackay" s e gu seòlt Ann an òrdugh "bhatallion" Le mliiltibh de shlòghraidh S a shròilte ri crannaibh
279
<5a b'e cliitheadh am fuathas B'e sid uair dha pr» fhaighinn, Fras pheilearaibh luaidhe Le mòr fhtiiaim nan "cannon."
lomadli òganach suairce Thuit 8an nair nd gu talamli Do dh'iiailsibh Chlainn Domhnuill Chlainn Chamroin s shiol Alain; Ach iia theaniiun bbo luaidh Thug' iad niathar le lamnaibh Tlioirt a mach an i-atreut Le ceart eio-iun s le h-ain-deoin.
Cha do shnosadh leò eudann Thoirt do reubaldaibh grathail Ach toirt fo cheile Le beum-sgeith aeus claidlieamh Ach gim f^habli iad ratreut Le reis chon ua h-abhna S gu d'fhàgadh leo ceudan San t-sreip ud na'n laighe.
Bu lionmhor sam uair ud Corp a' gluasad s e leòint; Ciun, aid (hats) agns gruaigean Fear gun chluasan gun chòr' Cha chluinnt' ann a dh'eighe Ach "alas!" agus "woe is me!" "Quarters for Jesus!" Bu Bheurla dhaibh 'n còmhnuidh.
Mu thimchioU na h-abhna
Bu ghàbhail an leirse
'Robh na miltibh (sic!) na'n laighe
Tha ann^fathast gun eirigh.
280
Bha cuid diubh o-un lamhan — Beòil ri flathas ag eigheachd S I'.ara rnaireadh an la Na dh'fhàg ar claidheamh gu'm Veuc dhaibh.
IX.
Gu raa slan do na curaidhean Leis na chuireadh an t-orghain Nach cualas a cu nioas Bho'n la 'sguir lubhir-Lòchaiclli; Is math a fhuaras lir Mhuile S o-ach duine Chi i inn Dònihnuill S gu dearnadh slad tuLIleadh Nam fuireadh an "rògaire."
Clia b'ami le ar dùrachd Tliàir e uatlia mar "hajck" Ach le dubliai-a'achd oidhche Agu3 miorbhuilleaclid eachaibli; Truagh nacli robh e san reiahlein 'Deubhadb a gha sgich Ach nach beireadh e "Chlaver" Gun Uilleam "Herie" na thaca.
XI.
S mur biodh bàs "Chlaver" Bu treubhach mav !:hacha:r; Chuir sid moill' agiis eis mhi')r Air Righ Seumas .heachd dliachaig Rud beag eile ta 'g eirigh S ag eigheachd ar masladh — A chàirdean cha leir dhuibh Seach an treubli tha cur as da.
Gur h^iomadh liunh threxibhach Eatar Eir' agus Breatunn Chatliadh le Seumas S a dh'eireadh an gest uair, Mur bhith eagla an treuda 'N ceilean s an capuill; Gu teirigt' libh-p fhein iad Nan treigt' leo' dacbaigh.
281
l^a mhealadh' mise buil^-seididli Is strian mhath de m' acfhuinn Mur cathainn-sa fein leis Cbo fad sa dli'fhaodadli mo phearsa; Ach bho's heart seo nach reidh dhom Thaobh gach eucoir thaim faicsinn Bidh mi s^uidh le Seumaa Ach sru treisf sibli i fason-s.
XIV.
S a cbeaiinu nan treubhan
Da 'm beusan am mailia
Ma srliealladh cùis rèidli libh
Caisa^dli 'n eu-coir-s' g\i h-ealamh;
Is trom osna nam bantrach
S na clannanu falamli
S ^u t(r)og iad seo ceann duibh
Mur ceannsuicli sibli 'ur maille.
XV.
!Nach eòl duibh an seorsa Ghlac òrdugli bho Uilleam Chuir Eigh Seumas air fògi-adh Bho chòirean a sheanair; 'N cualas riamh uo-bheart Bu sheòlt air a h-imirt Xa mar tharrning iad òirnne Pòlaindeach Fionnfhuar.
Cha mho chualas breugan
Bu treuna na bh'ac
Mar chuir iad an ceill duinn
Na'n ceud "manifesto"
Mhurt a bhrathair Eigh Searlas
S an Tearlach sin "Essex"
Mac Gobha na Ceardaich
Bhi 'u hite oighre Bhreatuinu.
282
Gur iora' ni bliarr seo Chuir iad àird nihor 'n ceill da Ach gun mhealladh leo armaild S gu'n thearb iad a chleir bhuaith : Leig e iillamh (?) gu dearbbadli Ann am Parlamaid reusain Ach bho nach faiglit leo creidich Is ann a db'fhògradh leo Seumas,
Bba leisgeul sin àraid
Sa Pharlamaid eucoireach
S gu d' èigh' iad as ait' e
Is gun thearn e blio'n teugmhail
Ghlac Uil learn is Mairi
T-àite le reusoii
Tha fios aig Dia gradhacli sin
'Nàdur s am beusan.
XIX.
Gur fada la chualas
Gu b' fhuarail an cleambnas —
Na dbearbh iad sa nnair-sa
Le fuath nihor is gamh'as;
Mac a pheathar da Ihiuvdiich
Se fuaighte ri seannrach
Miosg Thurcaicliibli Iniaillidh
Cha d' fhuaradh riamh "shambladli.
Gad tha creideamh mar sgàil ac'
Is tur dh' iiic-headli iad 'm Biobul,
Fhuair Ahitophel ait'
Ann am Mairi 'cheart liroadh,
Dar a thrèigeadh leo càirdeas
Agus "caritas" direach
S a bhrist iad gu gràineil
Air an àithn' thug Criosd daibh.
283
Dhc clioniliai-raich bàigh dhxiinn'
Umhia, gràdh agus firinu
Cha 'n eil e mar chàs air
A chàraid-s a pliillthm
Acli reir s mar thachair a Dhaidh
S a mhac àluinn da shior-ruith
Thig- Rig-h Scumas gii kite
Dli' aiiidcoin crabliadh Phrcsbitrie.
S gad dh' eireadh ur feachd-s
Dha-san thaobh iasaid
Thig mac a Ghobliainn a db' fliàgsibli
Gu cheardacli le caonriaig;
Blieir c garadh tetli gàbhaiclb
Do gach. àrmunn a dh.' iobair e
Ni e tairgne cha'n fhearr duinu
Air mhachrii nan stiopla.
XXIII.
Achi 's mor m' imnidh s 3ni smaointiim
Thaobh gach cùis a ta 'g eirigh
Gu bi Breatunn dhe ciùrrt
Fuil bhrùtht' ann an Eire
Gu bi bristeadh a chnamha
Eatar Mairi is Seumas
S gu bi smior aig an Fhrangach
Ma ceaunsuich sibh cheile.
Dhe! dh' òrduich na righeau 'Chumail sith ris gach duine Bho is tu-san is brighmhoir' ISTo gach ti dhiubh siud iiile Casg fein le d' mhioraild An t-srilli-s' gu h-ullamh Ceartaich robairean Sheuraais Bath reubaldan XJi'.leam.
Ach fhir a shiùbhlas air chuairt bhuainm
Dh' ionnsuidh uaislean na h-onoir
Bha ann la Raoin Ruaraidh —
Gach uair (?) fhuaireadh leo cothrom —
Gur ait liom mar bhuail iad-s
An ruathar ud orra
Na ceil thu-s' mar chuala
Is beir bhuam-sa ciad soiridh.
Note. — "Cònlainn," hosts; "tairgne," plundering, devastation; "orghain," plunder, piUage, slaughter; last word of x., 2, ought to be "theachdair," and possibly the final letters got dropped or faded.
ORAN DO RINNEADH. I jfl^ (August 21, 169-.)
"^^' Bho tim sin an uraidh chaidh m' inntinu an
truLmid Sgeul cinntoach so chuireas fos n-ard Ga bu shunntach mo thurua dul dh'ionn
suidh Phrionns' Uilleam Chaidh mo ebùgradh gu mulad Di-màirt; 'La sgaoilmear an naigheachd dh'fhàg sinne
fo mhasladh Le saothair air leapamian clàr Cha b'fheairrde mo shonas na ghabh pairt
le Sir Tomae Siud 'a mheudaich mo dhorran s mo
chràdh.
Bha'n cealgair ud brionnach cho seolta ri
Bionnach — Na fogbmadh leat miooinan is mnai — Nuair thàireadh leis iomairt sa dh'fhailing
ar cinneadh Gu'u d'fhàg iad 'ceann-fin' ann a b'àird;
285
S mairg' da'm bti chompaa thu uuair bha no.
campair iieo-chumhail S a ruagair iad urrainn na càird', S a chumadh hlm'n cliroich e le fhuasgladb.
san droch uair, S math, a dliiiaisich e tuagha dlia^
III. Tkug e ionnsuidli air Sasunn, far an d'ionns-
iiich e 'fasan-s' Tkionndaidli iad-s' blmaith dhachaidh go'rt
ait Gad bha es' gn foilleil cha'n aain air-s' tha
mo choire Ach air na dh'fhàiling 'Chlaun Choinnich sa
chas; Daj* a thTeigeadh leo 'n onoir gun eiginn gun
chunnard, S mairg d'an d'eirich. no chunnaio an la ('N) can gach aon fhear le brosgla nach
fac-sa mi-fhortain Mar cheanusuich iad Fort-Sea gu nàir?
Fir eile bha'n cruadal, 'thàinig thar chu-
antaibh Gu'n aithris iad fhuaim sec gu h-ard Leis am b'ioghnadh seo thacbairt s nach do
smaoinich a bheairt-sa Muna ghluaig iad go machair bho thraigh; Sa liuthad laoch gasd bha iad faicsinn fo
bhrataich Nach. faight' ri gealtachd gun spaim B'ann diubh Mr Cailean agus Alaatair
fearail Le iomadh ceann baile na gheàird.
Oig Ghearloch bho thuath leis la àrmunit
gun ghruamain Nach tarlum a bhi san tais. Fear eile nach b'fhuath leani, ga b'"
Shimi [ ?] gle chruaidh e Nuair chunnaic e uailse na cha;
286
Ag'us Iain [?] cha cheilinn, oighre Dliomi-
achidh Mhaic Coinnich •Clia'n fhaight' e air deixeadh. sluagh bair Seo na bheag dhe a chinneadli 'chathadh leis
gun gliiorraig Oad do bhiodht' ga iomairt chon bàis.
Ach fhleaegaichibli uails' gun erras gun
uallach Mar fhaict' ac' buailte(an) air blàr Ni chuirt' leo suarach ma buaint gu criiaidh.
ris Gad bha cuid air a buaireadh. le each; Na biomar da'n eloinneadh an drasd gu
follais S nacli math tha mo chomas an dan, Ach chunna(ca)s pairt diubh dar dh'fhàg
an ceann iiiil iad rrasach a shileadh an sùilean gu làr.
VII.
Cha b'iouann s a dim diubh bha san am ud
gu cùbach Cha b'fheairrd iad am buirdeisich fann Sa dh'aiudeoin an cùirt bithidh 'charachd-sa
ciirt' Da 'n ti sin a lùb iad gu meallt; Guji bhi 'g iarraidh bhodach ach cur romh
bhi gealtach Sa chomhairle nihaslaidh-s thoirt da Sa threig an ceann cinnidJi air son maoidh-
eadh luchd millidh •Gad dh'eireadh dha iomairt bhi bath.
Euith 'chuibhl' air a fortan, mo chreach!
tha mi-choslacb Nach do . . iad do thoiseach na pàirc (?) ■Cha bhi mi ri brosgul ma can mi ni's olc
leo Ach Dia thionndaidh an roth na ait.
287
Tboirt coniliairle throiin daibli iad chaith-
eamh le cheile Ann an iomairt, an eiginn sa ppàirn S giir fada la chualas cha bhi ain-iochd gvm:
fliuathas Na fine nilior suas gun bhi'n crhdh.
IX.
Ach thig mi san iiair-s air na labliradh. gu
suairc TÌ3 Cha bhi mi ri buaidhreachd caiunt S cha cheil mi mar chuala thuirt ciiid a
dhaoin' uails' Nach reiceadh an dualchas air sannt Mo . . bhi suas . . an am cruadail Le d' chlaidheamh s le d' luaidli air do
làimh S na crath dhiot do chairdetn air son mi-
ghean do naimhdean Ach gTi'n naisgear leat snaim orra 'm bann.
Pill fathast gu d' dhùthchas là thig Buchan
a nunu bhuainn S leig sgaoileadh do d' mhuinntir a«h pàirt Ach gu fosglar duit donis dhianamh t'
shiochai(n) le onoir Chionn s nach faicear leat cothrom is fea^r; Seo 'chomhairle fhuair e bho thriatlrraibh
nach luaidh mi S gu cuala mo chluasan a radii Gu cumt' leo suas e dlr'aindeo'iu am bru-
aidlein Air m' fhalmnn! bha dhualchas sin daibh.
S gu cathadh iad fein leis na iomairt s na
eiginn Gad do threigt leo feudail is tpreidh Truagh nach ann mar seo dh'einch gad a
bhithiiiu-s an eis do Mu'n deach e fo ('m) mèinn-san (an) laimh
288
Ach a Ghaidhealu gaad na geillidh mi-
thapaidh Gad do dh'fheuch iad dhuirm masladh no
dhà Mar bha la siu 'mhealtuiim dar ohaidh
Livingston feall òirnn Tlia nis ann a tholla ri chradh.
XII.
Thig fathast thar clauantaibh ma gbeobh iad
deagb fhuaradb Na chuireas an sluagb ud bbo bbair S gad tha'm feacbdannan lionmbor s dòigh
gn'm faic eibb droch dhiòl orr' Ann an toradb an guiomba mbi-nàir'; S na mbealladb mi m'eudach mar a b'ait leam
bbi 'g eisneachd Gacba ti dbiiibb 'g eigbeacbd 'nur bàigb: Dbè earalticb na greine fòir an neacb-sa
cbaidb 'n eiginn Is gi-eas dbackaidb Ri Seumae gu ait.
Na faighim; mo lùn daibh cba bbiodb iad
ciiirrt Ni mo dbea'.imar ùmbla do cbàcb S gu tuiteadb a' sgiiirsa-s' air gacb aon neacb
gu dùbailt Eba caitbeamb nan Hibain gu fealls'; Acb leigiiii-sa 'cbiiis gu stòl (?) na ti
cbrùn e Neacb is nrrainn da fbuaegladb a cas S bbo cbaidb m' inntinn an truimid mu 'ni
sin a cliunnaa 'Sgeul ciniiteacb eeo cbuir mi fos n-ai'd.
Note.— 'Tort-Sea," i.e., Seafortb. Tbe word "campair" is used by Iain Lorn, e.g., "Cba b'e 'n campair air cbùl na sgeitbe e (La Eaon Enari.") The poet seems to bave taken an oatb of allegiance. One sucb oath had to be taken before December 31, 1691, but Macrae does not refer here to tbe Mass-
280
acre of Gleiicoe, February 13, 1692. The Sir Tomas is no doubt Sir Thomas Livingston, goTemor of Inverness, who served under General Mackay, and eiiccoeded him as Com- mander-in-Chief in NoTBniber, 1690, and wae employed in Kin^ William's Continental wars. In 1696 he was created Viscount Teviot, and died in 1711 without male issue. This Livingston was a different individual from Lieutenant-Colonel Livingston, who was detected in a traitorous conspiracy aga- inst Sir Thomas. This Sir Thomas was the official through whom the orders for the mass- acre of Glencoe were conveyed. Writing on 23rd January, 1692, to Hamilton, command- ing officer at Fort-William, he says: — I understand that the laird of Glencoe, com- ing in after the prefixed time, was not ad- mitted to take the oath, which is very good news to lis, seeing that at Court it is wished that he had not taken it, so that the very nest might be rooted out. So here is a fair occasion to show you that your garrison serves for some use. I desire you will begin with Glencoe, and spare nothing of what belongs to them, but do not trouble the Gov- ernment with prisoners." — "Culloden Papers," quoted in "Life of General Hugh Mackay," ed. 1842, p. 20 n. To Iain Lom. William was but a "righ iasaid," a loan king.
Note. — At beginning of note, line 2, read "Lom" (not "Lorn.") In stanza vi. 1. 3, of preceding piece read "buint" (not "buaint.")
13
290
AON EILE DO RINNEADH LEIS 'N
AM CRADHADH BHI NA 'CHEANN.
(Rel. Cel., II., 69.)
I. Tùrsach mise, mhic mo Dhe!
Tha tuinns' mo cbre do m' lot Aidbheam do dh'athiair nan gràs Gu'n cbaitheas mo la g-u li-olc.
Sgiot bhuam-s' madainn, mo theirm Mar chliobaig gun strein, gun fhios Mar clirann ciu'iaidh gun stà Gun duill© gun bhlàth, gun mliios.
III. Chaitheas fòs mo mhiadhon lò Gun mhathas ach 61 is craos Gach gràdh dh'fhàdaim-sa d'an fheòil D'a m'aign© is bròn r'a m'aois.
Thaiuig m'fheasgair, mo uuar!
Da m' ghreasadh gu luath cho'n uidh
(aoi ?) Beannuicht an Ti thug an tail Gun an t-anam a ghnath ri caoidh.
Aithreach gach. ni' rinueas riamh Dhe do riar-s', a cholluin bhras. Gun bhd againn da 'chi(o)nn Ach claigionn tinn is ciabh ghlas.
Dian le do Spiorad mo bhròin Thoir ionad dom an glòir a nis Ail- chor s gu'n claoidheamaid an fheòil S gu biomaid fa dheòidh r'a tuirs'. Tùrsach' mis, &c.
291
"Cliobatj -aigr," f. filly, seems connected ■with "clioba," manger (a word in daily use); ""curraidh," exhausted, weak; "tail," wages, pay; "ttiinnse," bruising', beating, thump- ing; but Macrae seems to have pronounced it "tuills" (MS. "tuilsh.") There is some- thng wrong in last line. If "tuirs' " be a right reading, "gu" ought to be "nach."
PAIKT DO CHOMHAIRLE MHIC EACHUINN MHIC FHEARCHAIR DO MHAC-AN-TOISICH A DHALT.
(Eel. Celt., II., 27).
Fhir da'm b'àiU comhairle bhuam Thobhair leat 'fuaim gu mion Feuch nach tig seach air do bheul Olòir a dhearnadh dhuit fein cion.
Biodh toisnea<;h ri raite ruit
Ma tharlas duit bhi taigh an oil
Gur minig 'thainig bho dhibh (dhdgh)
Glòir a bh'fheàrr a staigh gu mòr.
III. 'N am comhairle bi gu min. Na tobhair i ach gu mall; Far am bi thu bi sfu beachd Na bi aca bhos is thiall.
IV.
Na bi mar "thrais" do mheinn Na lean t'àilgheas fein air aon Na cuir air an anmhuinn neart Chionn tairbh le ceart chlaon.
Bi foidhideach tre an aixc Na cath cealg air dhuine bochd Fear conais na biodh do [d'] rèir Na dean teum da'm faighear lochd.
Bi gu mor, bi gn math.
Mu g;habhail(t) rath na bi gun reim
Thoir do chomhairle ma seach.
Air gack neach a bliios na fheum.
VIT.
Air an t-saoghal na clean sannt Tuig nach bi thu ami ach uair S nach oil de t'aimsir a bhos Ach tionndadh na bois mu cuairt.
VIII.
Mhio(dha)rachd leig ma seach. Tuigf nach buinig i neach àgh; Ge dh'uireasbhuidh air do mhaoin Bi furachar mu reir chaich.
IX.
Gacli cunnart da'n tarl thm fa choir Fo uile dhoigh bi ma seach Na bi gu h-iomlaideach a dhaoin' Chionn 's gu'm biodh tu reir gach neach.
X.
Ma tharlas dhuit bhi'n cuirt ghlio Ge leigear dhuit bhi mar roigh Bi-s' furachar ma reir Anns gacli aon ni is miann leo.
Trodan cheann teallaich na dean Na amaladh daibli ge b'e ni Na tobhair an ascaoin ma seach As an treis gu'n tig do shith..
XII.
Air do charaid na gabh am (aim) Na lean e gu teann na leum Aon ni dhi-molas tu 'chàch A theanal siud gu brach na dean.
XIII.
Na bi ro mhor s na bi beag Ri fatk-dhaoin' na catk do chuid 'Laoich mheanmich na dean trod Na ob mas eiginn duit.
Note. — Verses similar are given in Nicol- son's "Gaelic PAverbs" (p. 395). Cameron made a transliteration of the whole, the first verse e.xcei^t^d. In iv. 1 the word seems Eng. "trash," which is often used Ln Gaelic. I do not see how Cameron could get "thrasd" ont of Macrae's "hrais." In ix. 3 he was wrong in rendering it by "gxi h-iimhailt- each." In x. 2 "roth" out of "roih" is im- possible," and gives no sense. In xi. 2 "amble" of MS. could never give "amhail," which, moreover, does not suit the context. In xi. 4 he took an unallowable liberty in rendering "oinnoile" by "ionann," for that leads the unwary reader to think Macrae is wi-ong. Not so. "A theaual sin cha'n fhacas riamh," i.e., "The like of that I never saw," is excellent Gaelic. Mac Mhaighstir Alasd- air" (p. 14.) 1. ii. (8th ed.), has — "Cha'n fhaca mi riamh tionnail Moraig so," i.e., "I never saw the like of this Morag." Again, on p. 10—
Cha'n fhaighear a tiunuail Air mhaise no bhunailt No'm beusan neo-chumant Am Muile no'n Leodhas.
i.e., "The like of her is not to be found," &c. This word is also, I recollect, given in the glossary to Stewart's Collection, but I have not got it by me to refer to the context; also, in Macbain's "Gaelic Etymological Dic- tionary," "tionnail," "the likeness of any person or thing," without aiiy derivation. Macleod and Dewar gives "sunnailt," f. "like- ness, comparison." The "1" seems to be put for "n" in order to dissimilation, and the root must be the same as in "ionann," for which see AJacbain s.v. ; "trodan cheann teall- aich," i.e., "fireside, bickering," xi. 1. In this case both Cameron's transcript and the editorial correction are wrong.
Appendices.
FARQUHAR MACRAE, GRAND- FATHER OF "DONNACHADH NAM PIOS.
"Mr Farqiiliar, secoud son of Christopher MacConnachie ('Dhonnachaidh,') was born at Islaaidonan, anno 1580, being a seven months' child. Howbeit, he became after- wards to be a man of very strong body; and his father perceiving his good genius for learning, sent him to the school of St Johns- town, where he stayed four or five years, and became a great master of the Latin language, as appears by some discourses of his still ex- tent. From Perth his father sent him to the College of Edinburgh, where he became a pregnant philosopher beyond his co-disciples, and commenced M.A. under the discipline of Mr Thomas Reid, his regent, who afterwards became principal of the college, all the mem- fcera of which pitched on Mr Farquliar as the most accomplished and capable to take Reid's place as regeait; but Kenneth Lord Kintail being then at Edinburgh, opposed the de- signs, and prevailed with th© members of the College to pass from Mr Farquhar, who himself preferred to be a preacher of the Gospel to any other calling whatsoever and for that end he had for some months preced- ing heard the lessons and lectures of Mr Robert Rollack, professor of Divinity, so that, omitting that opportunity of improving his great abilities, he was brought by Lord Ken- neth home to Clianonry of Ross, where he was overseer of the Grammar School which then flourished there, and stayed for the space of fifteen months; and having passed his trials, he became a sound, learned, elo- quent, and gi-ave preacher, and was. pitched
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upon by the Bishop and clergy of Ross as the properest man to be minister of Gairloch, that thereby he miorht serve the colony of English which Sir George Hay of Airdry, afterwards Chancellor of Scotland, kept at Letterewe making iron and casting camion. Mr Farquhar having entered thien did not O'uly please the country people, bnt the strangei-s, es2>ecially Sir George Hay. In the year 1610 Kenneth Lord Kintail brought Mr Farquhar with liim to the Lews, where he preached the Gospel to the inhabitants, who were great strangers to it for many years before, as is evident from his having to bap- tise all under forty years of age, which he did, and married a vast number who lived there together as man and wife, thereby to legitimate their children and to abolish the barbarous custom that prevailed of putting away their wives on the least discord. This was so agreeable to the well-meaning part of the people that my Lord Kintail, promising to place such a man among them, made them the more readily submit to him, so that all the inhabitants at this time took tacks from him except some of the sons of Macleod of Lewis, who fled rather than submit to him. Mr Lord, falling sick, returned home in haste to Chanonry of Ross, where he died, and was the first of the family that was buried there, leaving the management of his affairs to Rory Mackenzie, his brother, com- monly called the 'Tutor of Kintail,' of whom all come the family of Cromerty. Mr Far- quhar married Christina Macculloch, eldest lawful daughter of Macculloch of Park, the first day of December, 1611, and dwelt at Ardlair, where several of his children were bcrn. But when Sir George Hay went from Letterewe to Fife, he seriously invited Mr Farquhar to go with him, promising he would get liim an Act of Transplantation and his choice of several parishes of which he was
296
patron; and would, besides, give him a yearly pension from himself, and endeavour to get for him ecclesiastical promotion. Mr Farqu- hiai- could not, in f^ratitude, refuse such an offer, and was content to go with him was it not that Colin Lord Kintail prevailed with Sir Geor -6 to dispense with him, Lord Colin himself proposing' to transplant him to Kin- tail, which was then vacant by the death of Mr Murdow Murchison, uncle by the mother to Mr Farquhar, who accordingly succeeded hiis uncle botli as priest of Kintail aind con- stable of Islandonan, anno 1618, as will ap- pear by a contract betwixt Lord Colin and him, dated at Cbanofiiry that year. Mr Far- quhar lived here in an opulent and flourish- ing condition for many years, much given toi hospitality and charity. After Earl Colin's death his brother, George, Earl of Seaforth, not only confirmed Ids right during his own life of the lands of Dornie, Inig, Arighxiagan, Drimbui, &c., but also, for a certain sum of money, added some years in favour of Mr John Macra, minister of Dingwall, to be enjoyed by him after his father (Mr Far- quhar's) death. Earl George committed to his care Kenneth Lord Kintail, his son and heir, to be educated at Islandonam, where other gentlemen's children were brought to keep him company, till it was thought pro- per to send him to a more public school. The young lord was at no disadvantage by being so long with Mr Farquhar, as it was by his care, and the wholesome, rather than deli- cate, diet he prescribed him that he grew so strong and healthy that he could afterwards endure great hardships and undergo vast fatigue without any bad consequences. Be- sides that, his being in Kintail so long made him known tO' the! way and manner of the Highlands so well that he made an excel- lent chief and leader. Mr Farquhar being rich when he came from Gairloch, provided
297
liis children considerably well, havinsf six sons and two daughters that were settled in his own life-time, viz., Alexander, Mr John, Mr Donald, Milmoir or Miles, Murdoch, and John. He got a wadsett of the lands of lu- verinate, Dorisduau, and Letterauigmuir for Lis eldest son, Alexander, from Earl George for the sum of six thousand merks Scots. To Mr John and Mr Donald he gave liberal education and some provision. His eldest daughter, Isebel, was tirst married to Mal- colm Macra, son to John Oig MacUnlay Dhiu — a pretty young gentleman, bred at school and college, and was killed at the Battle of Auldearn. After his much- lamented death, she married William Mac- kenzie, son to Mr John Mackenzie, some time minister of Lochalsh, of the family of Dauchmaluack. Helen, his second daughter, was married to John Bain, second sou to John Bain, of Knockbaiu, whom his father provided with some laoids in Dingwall. As Mr Farquhar was prosperous and well-to- live, he was envied by severals, some of whom suggested to Patrick Lindsay, then Bishop of Ross, that he became too secular a man, and neglected his charge as minister, where- upon the Bishop informs him to come and preach before him and the Synod next Pro- vincial Assembly, where the Bishop, having to preach the first day, had the same text of Scripture, viz., "Ye are the salt of the earth," upon which Mr Farquhar had prepared to preach. Mr Farquhar having told this to some of th© brethren, an air of it came to the Bisliop's ears, who called him and told him he would by no means allow him to preach on any other. Mr Farquhar on this occasion performed his part so well that it was then a common question among his hearers whether the Highland or the Low- land salt savoured beat, and it so recom- mended him to the Bishop ever after that
298
his accusers were justly believed to have re- ported falsely of him. He thereafter preached once or twice before Bishop Max- well, who, ha\àng- asked the opinion of the brethren, they all commended the perform- ance, and asked his lordship's own judgment in the matter, to which he answered — 'A man of great gifts, but, unfortunately, lost in the Highlands, and pity it . . .' In the year 1651 Mr Farquhar, being then old and heavy, removed from Islandonan by reason of the coldness of the air to a place near it, called Inchchuiter, where he lived very plen- tifully for eleven yeai"s, some of his grand- children, after his wife's death, alternately ruling his house, to which there was a great resort of all sorts of people, he being very generous, charitable, and free-hearted. In the year 1634, when General George Monk passed through Kintail with his army, they on their return carried away 360, but not the whole of Mr Farquhar's cows, for which, after the restoration of King Charles II., he was advised to put in a claim; but his love for the cliaaige of affairs made him decline it, and at his death he had as many cows as then, and might have many more were it not that they were constantly slaughtered for the use of the family which he had of his grandchildren and their bairns about him. Being at last full of days, and having seen all his children that came of age settled, after he had lived fifty-four years in the ministry, ten of which at Gairloch, he de- parted tliis life in, the year 1662, and the 82nd year of his age. He was buried with his predecessors at Kildwick, in Kintail. His son above-named is the next to be treated of; referring Alexander, according to the plans laid down, to be the last spoken of. Mr John, second son of Mr Farquhar, was born at Ardlair, in Letterewe, March 13th, 1614. After he had learned his grammar at
299
Chaiirey, his father, knowin<i: he would prove a scliolar, so^nt him to the College of St And- rews, under the care and discipline of Mr Muugo Murray, where he became a pregnant philosopher, few in the University paralleling him. He had for his antagonist the Earl, afterwards Duke of LauderdaJe. When he had commenced Master of Arts his father, finding him of a scholastic genius, sent him to study Di\dnity at Aberdeen, under Dr Robert Barrow, with whom he remained three years, in which time he became a great divine and profound schoolman. He made several attempts to go off the nation in time of the violent pressing of the Scots Covenant, which his father knowing, crossed his design, keeping him with himself in Kintail, and though he had offers of a kirk he would not embrace any, because he must needs take the oatlis and subscribe the National Covenant. But in the year 1640 the violent pressing of the Covenant became somewhat more remiss, and George Earl of Seaforth, jjatron of the Church of Dingwall, which was then vacant by the deprivation, of Mr Murdoch Macken- zie for not submitting to the acts of the General Assembly at Glasgow, wherein the Bishops were deposed, anno 1638, gave him a presentation thereunto, wherein he entered without subscribing the Covenant, in which capacity also he was more fit for the chair than the pulpit, giving such evidence of his learning as the place he was in and the society he was among would allow, and of his piety and vigilance such as they could desire or expect from any."
300
DONNACHADH NAM PIOS.
Duiicaai, the lineal heir and grandson, as said immediately above, of Mr Farquhar, was married to Janet, co-heiress of Eaasay, and had by her Farqnhar, Kenneth, and John, and two daughters. Farquhar, his eldest son, was married to a daughter of Mr Simon Mackenzie of Torridon, by whom he had Duncan, Christopher, and John, Janet, Maiy, and Ann. He died in 1711, Duncan, the eldest son of Farquhar, was married to Florence, daughter of Charles Mackenzie of Cullen, of the family of Kil- coy, and died in 1726, and had by her a son called Farquhar, who married Mary Mac- kenzie, daughter of Alexander Mackenzie of Dauchraaluack, by whom he had eight sons and four daughters. He died in December, 1789.
Duncan, the son of Alexander, the son of Mr Farqubai', was drowned in fording a burn near his own house in Dorisduan, on his return from the low country, hj which acci- dent the family lost much property by tie destruction of bonds and other papers which he had upon him.
Note. — The above is from a transcript in my possession, which I owe to Alexander Carmichael, of the Macrae genealogy, and which agrees with the MS. in possession of Horatio R. Macrae, Esq. of Clunes, to whose kindness I am indebted for a former perusal. The title is — "A Genealogical Account of the Macra's, as written originally by Mr John M'Ra, some time minister of Ding- wall, in Ross-shire, who died in the year of ,our Lord, 1704. Transcribed by Farquhar M'Rae, of Inveainate, in 1786. Copied by Captain John M'Ra, of the Royal Scots, from this transcript in the possession of his son, Dr John M'Ra, of Chittagony, in the year 1816."
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ON GAELIC TESTIMONY AS TO MATRIARCHY AND THE COUYADE.
In addition to the historical testimony to th« Pictish Matriarchate, as set forth by Zimmer, it may be useful to summarise any further references to the subject. Briefly — (1.) The Testimony of Gaelic Proverb : "Cha'n abair mi mo bhrathair ach ris a mhac a rusf mo mhathair," i.e. (I will not say brother but to my mother's son.) This is a common proverb, and is given in Sheriff Nicolson's "Gaelic Proverbs," p. 105 of 2ud ed. 1882. The Sheriff remarks it looks like 3 relic of a time when birth-rights and bloo J- ties were calculated from the maternal rathor than the paternal side, of which Mr Skene has found traces in the early history of our country — "Celtic Scotland," I., 252; Mac- lennan's "Primitive Marriage," 2nd ed., p 129.
Another common saying is: "Se càirdeas na mathar is dilse" — It is mother kinship that is nearest. In many parts of the High- lands it is to my own knowledge still held that the sisters' children are more closely akin than brothers' children. '[he people whom I have questioned cann->t give me a reason for this, but persist that it is so.
(2.) Many of the great heroes in Ga^ìij literature have their descent reckoned on tiieir mother's side, e.g., Cuchulinn, who is, ac- cording to Tigemach "fortissimus heros Scot- orum," known as Cuchulainn mac Dechtere; so, too, Fergus MacEòg, Diarmad o Duinn (Duibhne).
(3.) Traces still survive m Gaeldom r.f a folk-belief in the Couvade. The Couvade was observed by the Iberians and by the ancient Corsicans v. Strabo, III., 165; Diodorus, v. 14. It seems to have originatei in a kind of dodge or social fiction, whereby
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tile trausition from matriarchy to patriarchy was facilitated. To the father was attri- buted a soi't of birth-debility, in virtue of which he could make good his claim to jiersonal possession in his offspring. This is a world-wide belief or custom. I have long known a case in the Highlands — that of a man believed to suffer in this manner, and two other cases have been authenticated to me on trustworthy authority — one from Uist, the other from Lochaber. It is the folk- belief that needs explanation in this case; wliat the tact was is another thing.
4. References to the Couvade in "Fled Bricrend" as observed among the Ultonians. We cannot deduce from these references that it was never observed among the Gaels, still less that the Picts were not Celts. All we can. infer is that among the Gaels at the time of these references the Matriarchal stage had been quite overcome. That it never existed we cannot infer on these grounds. Professor Carl Pearson, in hia •'Chances of Death amd other Studies in Evolution," gives a chapter on "Evidences of Mother-Right in the Customs of Mediaeval Witchcraft and on Kindred Group Marriage." According to him, early Ayran culture was Matriarchal. The' Professor's evidence is mainly from the Teuton side — the last branch of the Ayrans who took part in the great migration, which, with the Joreaking- up of old social customs, would tend to the substituting of Patriarchy for Matriarchy. It would not be safe to fix upon the exact date at which such substitution took place among the Gaels; but some of the oldest portioms of GaeHc literature show a deep difference was perceived by the Celts of the Gaelic territory of Meath between them- selves and the Ultonians. This is evidenced by the contemptuous reference on the part of Emer in gen Forgaill Manach beu Concul-
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aind. Emer, Ctichulinn's wife, was from Meath, and when in "Fled Bricreud" — a Gaelic tale, the poetical parts of the redac- ticn of which may safely be dated circa. 700 A.D. — Cuchiilinn's wife jibes at the Ultoiiians, she knows no more distasteful comparison than : "Is i richt mna siuil sedda Ulad uli corrici mo chele-se Coiiiculaind," i.e.. The braves of the Ultonians all are like ■unto women in child-bed eomjoared with my spouse Cuchulinaa. She evidently refers to the Ultonian practice of not fighting during the particular week of the Couvade — the sea- son when the men feigned birth-sickness.
(5.) Tlie evidence of the old story, "Noinden Ulad." There are at least four versions of this story. Two of them have been edited by Windisch ("Berichte iiber die Verhandlungen der k. Sachsichen Gesell- schaft der Wissenschaften." Phil. Hist. Classe, No. 36, year 1883-84..) The oldest i.s from the "Book of Leinster," 125 b., a MS. compiled about 1150i. "Noinden Ulad" is one of the introductory tales to the Tain Bo Cuailnge. AVhen Queen Meave of Cruachan, with her powerful following, had made a hostile descent upon Ulster, Cuchulainn alone ■vvas in a position to oppose her forces. Con- ohobar. King of Ulster, and the other Ultonian braves were in the condition of debility known as "cess noinden Ulad," L.L., 56a 1. 9. O'Curry rendered this as Child-birth Debility of the Ultonians. The word "noinden" seems indeclinable: "ata C'onchobar na chess noinden." What the origin of the word is is not beyond question. It has been proposed to derive it from "noi n-," i.e., nine ; and "den," O. Ir. "denus," a period of time; Skr. "dina," day. This derivation would harmonise with what the stoi-y relates as to its lasting for five days and four nights. O'Davoren glosses it by
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"tinol," assembly; and if that were tlie pri- mary meaning-, it might be a loan from L. "miudinae."
TRANSLATION.
"Noinden Ulad," whence is it? Not diffi- cult. Crumiiuc, son of Agnoman, was a rich farmer. He lived ia solitude and on the mountains, and many sons were by him. His wife, however, died. One day, as he was in his house alone, he saw a woman coming towards him into his house. The appearance oi the woman seemed to him magnificent. She began at once as soon as she had sat down, to make preparations for eating, as if she ever had been wont to be in the house. When night came on she gave directions to the household without asking any questions. She slept with Crun;uiuc at night. There- upon she was a long time with him, and, thanks to her, they had no scarcity of amy product, whether of food or drink or good things. Not long thereafter a fair was to be holden by the Ultonians, and they were wont to go to the fair with man, wife son (and) daughter. Crunniuc also betook him- self with the others to the fair; he was well got-up and well-looking. "It behoves thee," said his wife to him," not to be [so] un- guarded" (pufied-up) [as] "to say an. im- prudent thing." "Impossible," said he. The fair comes off, and at the day's end the King's chariot comes [first] to the terminus. His chariot and horses scored a victory. The people said, 'There is nothing to match these horses for swiftness." "My wife is swifter," said Crunniuc. He was forthwith seized by the King. This was told to Crunniuc's wife. "It is a real affliction for me that I should have to go to set him free,"
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said site, "and me heavy." "What af&ic- tiou!" exclaimed the messenger; "he will be killed if thou coniest not. Thereupon she went to the race-course (fair), and tlie pains of child-birth gat hold of her. "Help me," said she to the people; "for of a mother has each of you been born. Wait for me till I am delivei-ed." She could nut obtain that [request] of them. "Good, then," she answered; "thence will come the greatest of ills, and long will it endure for all the Ultonians." "What is tliy name?" said the king. "My name," she made answer, and the name of my progeny will for ever be associated with the fair (race-course). Macha, daughter of Saim-eth, sou of Imbath, is my name." Thereupon off she went with the chariot; and as the chariot arrived at the terminus, her delivery forestalled its arrival, for she gave bii-th to twins — a boy and a girl. From that comes Emuin Macha (lit., twins of Macha). At her delivery she gave such a cry that it set every one who heard it into a condition of debility for five days and four nights. All the men of the Ultonians who had been there, they all fell into the same condition unto the ninth gen- eratiooi (fri saegul noubair ocan fhiur ro bai ann). Five days and four nights, or five nights and four days, that was the [duration of (?)] Noinden Ulad. The strength of a woman in travail, that was the strength each man of the Ultonians had in the Xoindeu until the ninth generation. Thi-ee classes there were on which the Noinden Ulad did not lie, viz., the youths and the women of the Ultonians and Cuchulainn (Treide for na bid noendeu di Ultaib i maic 7 mnaa Ulad? Cuchnlaind). The period during which it weighed on the Ultonians was from the time of Cruincon, eon of Agnomau, eon of Curirulad, sou of Fiatach, sou of Umii, until the time of Forco, .son of Dalian maic Mainich, maic Lngdach, &c. Curir Ulad,
13a
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it is from him the Ultoniaiis are named. Thence then comes Noinden Ulad and Emuin Macha.
There are versions of the above in the Yellow Book of Lecan, also in the Book of Fermoy, and in the Harleian MS., 5280, fol. 53 b (British Mnsenm, fifteenth century). The latter, thoug-h verbally differing from the Book of Leinster, tells the story much to the same effect, but gives the man's name as Cruind, and says Macha was the name of that woman, as the learned say (Macha daua ainm na mna sin, ut periti dicunt). Mention is likewise made of the taboo laid on the man. "You are not to go to the race- course," said the woman, "that you may not fall into the danger of speaking con- cerning us, for our continuing together lasts only so long as thou dost not speak of me in the assembly (race-course, fair.") The son and daughter are given the names of Fir and Pial. "Then, from dire necessity and sickness, she broke out into a cry. God forth- with granted her relief, and she bare at one Tiirth a son and a daughter. Fir and Fial. When all the folks heard the cry of the woman, it so overcame them that they all had but the same degree of strength as the woman in her state of debility had. 'From this hour henceforth the affront you huv© given me will turn out to your dis- honour. For in your greatest straits each one of you in this province will have but the strength of a woman on her delivpry, and for the space of time that a woman is in child-bed, for the same time will (this aebility) last, viz., five days and four nights, and it will weigh uix>n you unto the ninth man, i.e., until the time of nine men (ninth generation.") That also was true; for it clave to thpm from the time of Cruiicon until the time of Fergus, son of Donald. But
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this debility lay not on tho women, nor on the youths, nor on Cuchulainn, for he was not of Ultonian lineage, nor on any one who was then outside of Ultouiau territory. Heicc comes it that the debility lay on the Ultonians.
"La sodhain atracht a scret n-ese ar tiachra an s^alair Ro o^le Dia di fo cetuair 7 beiridmac? ingin a n-oentairbirt i. Fir octis Fial. Amail ro colutar an shiag uili a scrit inna banscalai fos-ceird foo co m-boi hinann nert doib uili 7 an banscal boi isan galur. Bidh aithis tra daib ond uair si ind ainccraca forunnid- sie onn-sa. An tan bus aiisam duib ni cor bia aclit neurt mna senla lib do neuch tairc- clla a coicet sa7 an eret bLs ben a seolai issi eret nom-biaid si i. co cend coic laa 7 cetheora aidchi 7 biaid forib dana co nomadh nao i. co haimsir nonbair. Ba fir son dana.
Fordarulil o aimsir Cruncon co haimsir Fer<Tusa meic Doraraill. Ni btid tra an ces sa for mnaib 7 macnaib 7 for Coinculaind ar nar bo do Ulltfib do nach for each oen no biidh frisan crich anechtair. Is do sein tra ro boi au ces for Ulltaib et reliqiia."
Thus far of a Gaelic story invented to ex- plain the Couvade practice.
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