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POPULAR   TALES 


OP 


THE  WEST  HIGHLANDS. 


POPULAE   TALES 


OP 


THE  WEST  HIGHLANDS. 


PRINTED  BY  R.  ft  R.  CLARE, 


FOB 


EDMONSTON  AND  DOUGLAS,  EDINBURGH. 

LONDON     .    .  HAMILTON,  ADAMS,  ft  00. 

CAMBRIDGE   .  MAGMILLAN  ft  CO. 

DUBLIN      .     .  W.    ROBERTSON. 

GLASGOW  .     .  JAMES  MAOLEHOSE. 


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THE  WEST  HIGHLANDS 


OKALLY    COLLECTED 


<SBit(j  n  ftrmwlatiott 
By  J.  F.   CAMPBELL 


VOL.  IV. 
POSTSCRIPT. 

OSSIANIC    CONTROVERSY— BRITISH  TRADITION,  PROSE,   AND 

POETRY— MYTHOLOGY— HIGHLAND  DRESS 

CELTIC  ORNAMENT,  ETC.  ETC. 


TC/EDINBUKGH: 
EDMONSTON    AND   DOUGLAS. 

1862. 


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# 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

Postscript   .  .  .  .1 

L  OSSIAN,  5.    Points  for  Argument,  6.    State- 
ment of  the  Case,  7.    Current  Opinions — 
English,  8;  Scotch,  9;  Irish,  10;  Irish 
Argument  considered,  1 2 ;  Lowland  Scotch       24 
Authorities — Heroes  of  Ossian,  25.    Befer- 
ences  to  Fenian  and  other  Traditions,  and 
to  Ossianic  Heroes  and  Poems  in  Old  Writ- 
ings, chronologically  arranged     .  .37 
Published  Evidence  and  Books     .  .103 
Populab  Ballads              .            .  .123 
Current  Gaelic  Traditions,  etc.  .     128 
Internal  Evidence,  etc.,  142.    Published 

Gaelic  Ossian,  143.  Opinion  of  MacNair  159 
Essay  on  Gaelic  Poetry  by  H.  MacLean  .  160 
Letter  from  John  Dewar  .  .  .215 

Letter  from  D.  K  Torrie  .  .  .     217 

Letter  from  Archibald  Sinclair      .  .221 

Letter  from  Alexander  Carmichael  .     229 

Conclusion  ....    248 

Ossianic  Proverbs  and  Family  History         .    252 


VI  CONTENTS. 

Page 

IL  TRADITIONS— British  Traditions      .  .     259 

Welsh  Stories,  etc.,  compared  with  Gaelic     .     271 

III.  MYTHOLOGY— Aryan  Theory,  etc.    .  .     305 

West  Highland  Stories        .  .  .314 

Supernatural  History — Water-Bulls  and 
Water-Horses,  Boobries,  Dragons,  Fairies, 
etc.  .  .  .  .     328 

Icelandic  Sagas       ....     344 

IV.  A  PLEA  FOR  GAELIC        .  .  .346 

List  of  Sanscrit  Words,  348.  Topography, 
351.  Some  words  common  to  Gaelic  and 
English,  352.  Other  Languages,  355.  Old 
Saxon        .....     358 

V.  HIGHLAND  DRESS  .  .  .365 

VL  CELTIC  ART  and  its  probable  origin    '        .381 

VH.  MUSIC 404 

Conclusion  .  .  .  .405 

List  of  Ballads  orally  collected        .  .408 

References  to  Written  and  Printed  Ballads  .     409 
List  of  Stories  collected       .  .  .415 

Index         .....     465 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTEATIONS. 
VOLUME  IV. 


Page 
Frontispiece.    J.  F.  C. 

1.  An  ancient  stand-up  Dog-Fight,  from  a  Cross  at 

Dupplin        .  .  .  .  .25 

2.  Belted  Plaid.     Ancient   Highland   Dress,   from 

a  Stone  at  St  Andrews  .  .  .38 

3.  Figures  from  Grave-stones  at  Killberry  and  Skip- 

nish,  in  Argyleshire  .  .  .  .47 

4.  Grotesque  Figure  .  .  .  .56 

5.  Dancing  to  Pipe  Music     Highland  Dress,  1829      57 

6.  Figure  from  Holbein's  Dance  of  Death  .  .58 

7.  The  Elk,  from  "  Ponitoppidan"  .  .  .168 

8.  Sketch  from  Nature,  made  on  the  Tana  River, 

Russia,  1850.    J.  F.  C.  .  .  .  283 

9.  Direach  ghlinn  Eiti,  or  Fachan,  as  described       .326 

10.  Highland  Family  Party  returning  from  the  Fair, 

1829  .....  333 

11.  "The  Great  Sea-Serpent,"  "The  Walrus,"  and 

"  The  Sea-Horse"      .  .  .  .339 

1 2.  Grave-stones  in  Islay  and  at  Skipnish  362-363 

13.  Highland  Dress  in  1560.    From  a  Picture  .  365 

14.  "  Minders"  (?)  MacKay's  Regiment,  1 631.    From 

a  Print  .....  373 

15.  Highland  Dress  in  1742.     From  a  Book  of  Uni- 

forms .....  377 


Vlll  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

16.  Pipers  and  Peasant   Boy.    Highland  Dress  in 

1848,  from  Nature    ....  378 

1 7.  Bosses  from  St  Sebald,  Nuremburg.    "  Grammar 

of  Ornament1'             .             .  .  381 

18.  Design  from  a  Stone  at  Gavr  Innis.     J.  F.  Cj  .  382 

19.  Interlaced  Pattern  from  an  Eastern  Bronze  .  384 

20.  Design  from  a  Hindu  Bronze  Vessel       .  .387 

21.  Figure  dressed  in  the  Belted  Plaid.     From  a 

Stone  at  St.  Andrews  .  .  .390 

22.  Figure,  from  a  Hindu  Bronze     .  .  .  391 

23.  A  bit  of  Carnac,  sketched  in  1855.    J.  F.  C.      .  399 

24.  From  a  Stone,  found  about  1830  under  ruins 

in  Loch  Fionnlagain,  Islay     .  .  .  400 

25.  Design  from  a  Norse  Powder-Horn         .  .401 

26.  The  Tail-piece.    From  an  ancient  Gaelic  MS.        407 


I  take  this  opportunity  of  thanking  Mr.  J.  Stuart  for  permis- 
sion to  copy  from  his  valuable  work  called  "  The  Sculptured 
Stones  of  Scotland.'*  The  stones  themselves  are  valuable  records 
of  the  past,  but  liable  to  injury,  and  Mr.  Stuart's  work  is  care- 
folly  executed  from  drawings  made  from  stones  in  particular  dis- 
tricts. It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  work  may  be  continued,  for 
there  are  still  great  numbers  of  sculptured  stones  in  Scotland 
which  have  not  been  drawn,  and  which  are  works  of  art.  Many 
of  these  have  been  buried  by  sand  drifts,  broken  through  careless- 
ness or  mischief,  or  defaced  and  spoilt  within  the  last  twenty 
years.  One  ancient  chapel  was  made  a  piggery,  and  some  of  the 
thin  gravestones  were  rooted  up  and  broken  by  these  fat  suc- 
cessors of  the  Culdees. 


ERRATA.— Volume  IV. 


agi 

9  126 

line 

1 

for 

Brookes       read 

Brooke. 

» 

131 

» 

22 

» 

bhrindhne 

» 

bhruidhne. 

» 

139 

» 

19 

n 

Smith.    His 

i» 

Smith,  his. 

w 

174 

M 

27 

n 

three  fir  trees 

» 

three  trees  of  fir. 
(J.  F.  C.) 

»» 

254 

» 

4 

tt 

Gachni 

n 

Gach  hi. 

»» 

284 

» 

14 

9» 

thu'n 

»9 

tha  'n. 

»> 

362 

1» 

30 

M 

strat 

1» 

strath. 

»» 

— 

» 

31 

ft 

glenh 

9» 

glen. 

» 

391 

» 

4 

» 

Gemini 

n 

Cancer. 

POSTSCEIPT. 


A  workman  has  reason  to  be  grateful  to  any  one  who 
will  give  him  an  honest  opinion  of  his  work  ;  and  he 
is  fortunate  if  he  has  many  able  advisers,  for  when  a 
number  of  independent  opinions  are  brought  to  bear 
npon  any  one  subject,  a  new  light  is  thrown  upon  it. 
One  critic  may  be  a  kindly  good-natured  man,  who 
wishes  well  to  the  work  and  its  author,  but  knows 
little  of  the  subject.  Such  a  man  will  praise  the 
work,  and  agree  with*  the  conclusions  and  arguments 
contained  in  it,  and  there  is  not  much  to  be  learned 
directly  from  him :  but  every  man  has  a  subject  of 
which  he  knows  more  than  his  neighbours,  and  is  apt 
to  bring  his  special  knowledge  to  bear  upon  other 
things,  so  it  is  a  marvel  if  something  is  not  learned 
from  the  criticism  of  any  clever  man. 

Another  may  be  more  skilful,  though  new  to  the 
subject  He  will  take  the  arguments  and  make  them 
his  own,  and  use  the  information  which  he  acquires, 
and  draw  his  own  conclusions ;  such  a  man  sheds  a 
new  light  on  the  matter,  and  there  is  much  to  be 
learned  from  him. 

vol.  rv.  b 


2  POSTSCRIPT. 

A  third  may  have  a  theory  of  his  own,  by  the 
light  of  which  he  peeps  about,  and  pokes  into  holes 
and  corners  to  pick  out  that  which  suits  his  own  pur- 
pose, and  nothing  else.  From  new  materials  so  gathered, 
such  a  man  will  build  up  a  structure  of  his  own ;  and 
there  is  much  to  be  learned  from  one  who  so  treats 
another's  work. 

Then  comes  one  with  more  extended  views,  who 
has  studied  the  question,  and  knows  a  great  deal 
about  it,  and  is  conscious  of  power,  and  who  views  the 
new  work  all  round  and  round,  and  turns  it  upside 
down  and  inside  out,  and  throws  a  new  light  upon  it — 
the  electric  light  of  superior  knowledge.  But  the  eyes 
of  such  men  are  apt  to  be  dazzled  by  excess  of  light ; 
they  have  looked  at  so  many  large  objects,  that  they 
overlook  the  small ;  their  vision  is  telescopic,  they 
cannot  see  microscopic  details ;  and  a  short-sighted 
theorist,  with  his  dim  lamp,  will  poke  out  many  things 
which  he  of  the  great  light  and  the  strong  eyes  will 
never  see.  But  whoever  reviews  a  book  fairly,  teaches 
something  to  its  author,  and  he  who  knows  most 
about  the  subject  teaches  most 

Then  come  friends  —  one  with  pleasant  praise, 
which,  if  he  be  a  wise  friend,  is  a  valued  reward  and  a 
wholesome  cordial ;  then  one  with  unpleasant  dispraise, 
which,  if  wisely  administered  and  well  taken,  may  be  a 
useful  tonic ;  then  one  who  picks  out  the  worst  bit,  for 
which  no  one  has  a  good  word,  and  says  it  is  the  very 
thing  which  he  should  have  expected,  and  he  shakes 
hands  and  departs  radiant  with  the  consciousness  of  a 
compliment  well  turned.    One  says  the  work  is  learned, 


POSTSCRIPT.  3 

perhaps  because  he  has  not  tried  to  understand  it; 
another  more  truly  says  that  it  is  not.  One  says  that 
it  is  too  long,  another  that  it  is  too  short ;  one,  that 
it  should  all  be  written  over  again,  another,  that  it 
never  should  have  been  written  at  all;  and  so  by 
degrees  the  workman  gets  to  know  his  errors. 

But  at  last  there  may  come  a  great  giant  of  a  critic, 
armed  with  a  brilliant  intellectual  sword  of  light,  which 
makes  smaller  men  quake ;  an  author  in  his  clutches 
feels  that  he  is  a  small  mortal  in  the  presence  of  a  very 
big  one,  that  he  must  resign  himself  to  his  fate,  and 
prepare  for  the  worst.  He  may  be  cut  up  into  little 
bits,  or  eaten  alive,  and  if  so,  he  is  quite  sure  to  dis- 
agree with  the  great  man,  but  he  must  submit.  He 
may  hope  to  be  as  indigestible  as  Tom  Thumb,  who 
survived  being  eaten  many  times;  but  he  may  also 
hope  to  be  raised  up  on  the  giant's  shoulder,  thence  to 
see  the  world,  or  to  be  placed  in  the  rim  of  his  great 
hat,  like  Grimm's  tailor,  there  to  walk  about  in  the 
sunshine,  and  admire  the  prospect.  He  may  be  crushed 
under  the  giant's  great  splay  feet,  or  helped  on  his 
journey  by  his  long  legs,  but  unless  some  other  giant 
interferes,  or  a  dwarf  shews  him  a  mouse-hole  to  creep 
into,  he  cannot  escape. 

But  when  all  is  done,  giants  and  great  men,  pur- 
blind and  keen-sighted,  Grudgeon,  Strongback,  Bola- 
gum  Mor,  and  the  rest  of  the  gifted  men  and  genii, 
friends  and  foes,  are  all  working  for  good,  and  bringing 
stores  of  knowledge.  If  they  are  friendly,  the  mortal 
has  need  of  friends ;  if  unfriendly,  he  will,  at  all 
events,  learn  to  keep  out  of  their  way ;  and  if  by  any 


+  POSTSCRIPT. 

chance  they  should  happen  to  go  by  the  ears,  and  fight 
over  his  contemptible  little  body,  he  is  not  worthy  to 
be  the  cause  of  such  a  fight  who  cannot  pick  up  some- 
thing worth  having  on  the  field  of  battle  when  the 
fight  is  done. 

It  would  be  ungracious  not  to  thank  those  who 
have  done  me  good  service,  so  I  thank  my  reviewers 
here  for  much  valuable  information.  My  work  has 
been  treated  as  an  honest  attempt  to  place  what  I 
found  amongst  Highland  peasants  within  the  reach  of 
English  readers ;  and  if  I  have  got  an  occasional  buffet, 
such  pain  does  but  enhance  the  pleasure  of  being  patted 
on  the  back.  Some  have  added  praise  which  I  can 
hardly  think  my  due,  and  of  which  I  would  willingly 
transfer  a  large  share  to  those  who  have  really  earned 
it.  The  real  workmen  are  the  old  Highland  bodies, 
with  their  extraordinary  power  of  memory,  who  told 
Gaelic  stories,  and  the  men  who  wrote  them  down — 
men  who  have  shewn  an  amount  of  industry,  talent, 
and  fidelity  in  carrying  out  their  work,  of  which  I 
cannot  speak  too  highly,  and  whose  genuine,  kindly, 
generous,  clannish  nature,  has  made  it  a  real  pleasure  to 
work  with  them.  H  Sir,"  said  one  of  them,  "  I  send 
you  the  story  of ,  which  I  wrote  from  the  dic- 
tation of .     I  am  paid  enough  already."     And 

yet  these  are  the  people  of  whom  one  of  a  different 
stamp  lately  said,  that  they  were  barbarians  to  be  civil- 
ized, a  people  whose  language  should  be  rooted  out  as 
the  worst  of  all  the  jargons  inflicted  upon  the  human 
race  as  a  curse  at  the  tower  of  BabeL 


OSSIAN.  5 

L  OSSIAN  *    IL  TKADITIONS,  &c. 
III.  MYTHOLOGY. 

I  have  learned  from  my  reviewers  that  the  Ossianic 
controversy  survives,  and  that  the  vigorous  centenarian 
is  studied  with  interest ;  that  these  Highland  stories 
which  bear  upon  Celtic  mythology  are  most  valued  by 
those  who  know  most  about  popular  lore,  and  that  I 
am  blamed  for  not  holding  opinions  as  to  the  origin  of 
such  stories.  At  the  risk,  then,  of  floundering  out 
of  my  depth,  I  will  endeavour  to  tell  what  I  know, 
and  what  I  think  about  these  three  subjects. 

L  Ossian. 

In  1760,  and  during  some  following  years,  certain 
English  compositions,  the  work  of  James  MacPherson, 
were  published.  There  is  no  dispute  so  far  ;  he  com- 
posed the  English  Ossian,  but  he  described  his  works 
as  "  translations,"  and  it  was  asserted  that  they  were 
his  "  original  compositions." 

It  is  well  to  define  these  two  expressions  here,  for 
their  meaning  has  been  obscured  in  the  controversy. 

1.  By  a  "  close  literal  translation,"  I  mean  that 
every  word,  phrase,  and  sentence  in  a  composition  in 
one  language  has  its  proper  equivalent  in  another. 

2.  By  a  "  free  literal  translation,"  that  every  phrase 

*  The  names  in  the  following  pages  are  variously  spelt  on 
principle  according  to  the  authority  referred  to.  Oisean  is  pro- 
bably the  correct  modern  orthography,  bat  the  sound  has  been 
expressed  in  many  ways,  and  I  prefer  to  preserve  them.  Osin  is 
perhaps  the  oldest  form  extant. 


6  0SSIAN POINTS  FOR  ARGUMENT. 

and  sentence,  but  not  necessarily  every  word,  is  ren- 
dered. 

3.  By  a  "  close  translation,"  the  expression  in  one 

language  of  the  very  same  ideas  which  are  expressed 
in  another — such  as  the  metrical  translations  of  the 
Psalms;  but  prose  may  be  verse,  or  verse  prose. 

4.  By  a  "  free  translation,"  I  understand  the  same 
thing  less  accurately  done — such  works  as  "Pope's 
Homer." 

In  the  strictest  rendering,  a  "  translator "  has  the 
choice  of  many  words,  and  may  thus  lean  towards  the 
one  language  or  the  other.  These  volumes,  for  ex- 
ample, generally  aim  at  a  "close  literal  translation," 
with  a  leaning  towards  the  Gaelic  idiom,  but  the 
loosest  "  translator "  has  no  right  to  add  one  idea  of 
his  own,  or  omit  anything. 

5.  The  next  step  is  not  easy  to  define.  The  first 
"Scripture  paraphrase,,  is  not  an  "original  composition," 
yet  it  is  hardly  a  "  translation."  It  is  a  "  paraphrase." 
If  compared  with  its  model,  it  gives  the  general  sense, 
but  it  also  gives  something  which  belongs  to  the  author 
of  the  paraphrase.  There  is  no  authority  for  "  smiling 
ray,"  "  ancient  night,"  and  a  great  deal  is  left  out. 

6.  The  next  step  where  original  composition  begins 
is  still  harder  to  define.  The  "  Idylls  of  the  King"  are 
original  compositions,  but  only  a  step  removed  from 
paraphrases,  for  they  are  founded  on,  and  contain  whole 

m^      lines  taken  from  old  poems  and  stories  :  and  so  there 

/       are  endless  gradations.      English  and  Scotch  popular 

ballads,  for  example,  owe  something  to  Percy,  Eamsay, 

Burns,  Scott,  and  others,  but  they  are  old  nevertheless. 


OSSIAN — STATEMENT  OF  THE  CASE.  7 

Some  have  equivalents  in  Danish,  Kcempe  Visar,  of  great 
antiquity,  and  part  of  the  story  of  the  Heir  of  Linne  is 
in  Grimm's  Eastern  Tales.  It  would  he  hard  to  dis- 
cover any  one  composition  of  any  modern  author  in 
which  something-  apparently  borrowed  from  some 
other  cannot  be  traced.  Gray's  poems,  for  example, 
are  full  of  lines  which  are  traced  to  the  classics,  and 
pointed  out  as  beauties,  the  originals  are  quoted  to  en- 
hance the  poet's  fame,  and  yet  these  are  original  com- 
positions. 

7.  There  are  compositions  which  seem  to  have 
scarcely  any  relation  to  any  that  have  gone  before,  such 
as  "Vathek,"  and  one  question  for  argument  is,  to 
which  of  these  seven  classes  do  the  "  Poems  of  Ossian" 
belong? 

Another  question,  and  an  important  one  is,  "Where- 
in does  the  authorship  consist  ? "  In  the  story  or  in 
the  words  ;  in  the  rhythm  or  metre  of  poetry,  or  its 
theme,  or  its  ornaments  and  illustrations  ?  Who,  for 
example,  will  be  the  author  of  "  Morte  Arthur"  when 
Tennyson's  poem  is  completed] 

In  1807,  after  MacPherson's  death,  the  Highland 
Society  of  London  published  certain  Gaelic  manuscripts 
which  were  all  in  MacPherson's  handwriting.  These 
contained  Gaelic  poems,  and  are  the  equivalents  of 
nearly  the  whole  of  his  English  prose ;  the  one  is  in 
fact  a  free  translation  of  the  other.  The  argument  is 
concerning  these.  Were  they  composed  by  Ossian  in 
the  third  century  as  MacPherson  "  surmises  Ì "  Or  by 
some  other  ancient  or  modern  Gaelic  poet  ?  Or  by 
MacPherson  himself? 


8  OSSIAN — CURRENT  OPINIONS — ENGLISH. 

Were  they  translated  from  the  published  English 
prose,  or  the  English  prose  from  the  Gaelic  verse  Ì 

"Were  they  compounded  by  any  collector  or  col- 
lectors of  other  men's  works,  or  were  they  original 
Gaelic  compositions  of  the  man  in  whose  handwriting 
they  were  found  Ì 

If  they  were  compounded,  from  what  originals? 
If  they  be  original  compositions,  how  far  are  the  ideas 
contained  in  them  and  their  language  borrowed  from 
older  known  compositions  in  Gaelic,  or  in  any  other 
language  Ì  Are  they  to  be  classed  No.  1  or  No.  7  ?  for 
they  must  be  classed  somewhere.  These  are  some  of 
the  questions  for  argument;  the  prevailing  opinions 
differ  as  widely. 

1st,  The  commonest  English  opinion  is,  that  the 
"poems  of  Ossian  n  were  composed  in  English  prose  by 
James  MacPherson  about  1760 ;  that  he  was  the  in- 
ventor of  the  characters  and  incidents,  and  that  the 
poems  had  no  previous  existence  in  any  shape. 

To  support  this  it  must  be  shewn  that  throughout 
all  known  Gaelic  literature  there  is  no  mention  of  these 
names  and  incidents  previous  to  1760,  and  that  no 
Gaelic  poems  concerning  them  existed  previous  to  1807. 

To  refute  this  it  is  only  necessary  to  quote  some 
earlier  mention  of  the  characters,  and  some  one  early 
Gaelic  poem,  Irish  or  Scotch,  concerning  their  ex- 
ploits. 

This  sweeping  English  theory,  which  ranks  the 
poems  in  the  seventh  class,  is  quite  untenable.  The 
groundwork  of  much  which  is  in  Ossian  certainly 
existed  in  Gaelic  in  Scotland  long  before  MacPherson 


OSSIAN — CURRENT  OPINIONS — SCOTCH.  9 

was  born.  There  are  many  passages  in  ancient  works 
written  in  some  dialect  of  English,  which  prove  beyond 
dispute  that  the  chief  characters  figured  in  Gaelic  com- 
positions centuries  ago,  and  Gaelic  songs  by  well- 
known  ancient  bards,  allude  so  constantly  to  Fionn,  the 
Feinne,  Oisein,  etc.,  that  there  is  no  standing  ground 
left  for  this  theory.  The  West  of  Scotland  Magazine 
for  1858  gives  much  information  on  this  point,  in  a 
series  of  able  articles  on  the  poetry  and  traditions  of  the 
Highland  clans. 

2d,  An  opinion  still  prevails  amongst  a  limited 
number  of  Scotchmen,  that  Ossian's  poems  are  histo- 
rical ;  that  the  Gaelic  is  genuine  old  poetry  composed 
by  a  bard  of  the  third  century,  who  witnessed  many 
of  the  exploits  recorded ;  and  that  those  passages  which 
are  said  to  resemble  passages  in  Milton,  may  be  the 
sources  whence  Milton  borrowed  ideas. 

To  support  this  opinion,  it  is  necessary  to  produce 
some  proof,  some  early  manuscript  containing  the 
poems,  or  one  of  them,  or  some  early  account  of  them, 
or  it  must  at  least  be  shewn  that  their  language  re- 
sembles in  some  sort  the  earliest  attainable  specimens 
of  Gaelic  as  written  by  rule  or  by  ear ;  or  that  these 
very  poems,  or  parts  of  them,  are  still,  or  were  at  some 
time,  commonly  known  to  some  class  of  the  population, 
and  that  they  agree  with  all  that  is  known  of  the 
history  of  these  times. 

It  is  not  now  easy  to  support  or  refute  this  opinion, 
or  prove  a  negative.  The  language  of  traditional 
poems  alters,  manuscripts  get  lost,  manners  change, 
and  men  die ;  but  it  might  be  shewn  that,  so  far  as 


10  OSSIAN— CURRENT  OPINIONS — IRISH. 

anything  is  known  of  early  Gaelic  literature,  there 
were  no  such  poems,  and  that  their  language  is  not 
that  of  some  one  period  between  the  third  and  the 
eighteenth  centuries,  or  that  some  one  event  which  is 
mentioned  happened  later  than  the  supposed  date  of 
the  poet ;  and  so  argue  on  probabilities. 

I  could  quote  modern  books  which  assert  that  the 
works  of  Milton  and  Shakspeare  were  composed  by 
Scotchmen,  while  Ossian's  poetry  is  a  genuine  work  of 
the  third  century ;  and  MacPherson  tried  to  persuade 
the  world  that  the  poems  were  of  that  date.  He  main- 
tained that  they  had  been  traditionally  preserved  in  the 
Highlands,  and  written  in  ancient  manuscripts  which 
he  had  discovered  there ;  that  according  to  Irish  his- 
tory, Fingal  died  283,  and  Osgur  296,  and  that  these 
were  the  king  of  Morven  and  his  grandson;  that 
Caracul  was  the  Roman  Caracalla ;  and  that  Ossian,  the 
son  of  Fingal,  survived  his  father,  and  disputed  with  a 
Culdee  concerning  the  Christian  religion  towards  the 
latter  end  of  the  third  or  beginning  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury;  that  Fingal  in  his  youth,  about  210,  performed 
exploits  against  the  son  of  the  Roman  emperor  Seve- 
rus ;  that  Oscar,  the  son  of  Ossian  and  grandson  of 
Fingal,  fought  the  Roman  usurper  Carausius  at  the 
winding  Carron,  which  runs  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Agricola's  wall ;  and  that  Ossian  sang  of  these  deeds — 
all  of  which  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  disprove  or 
believe. 

3d,  There  is  an  Irish  opinion,  ably  set  forth  in  the 
fifth  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Ossianic  Society 
of  Dublin,  and  probably  held  by  many,  though  it  is 


08SIAN CURRENT  OPINIONS — IRISH.  1  I 

not  held  by  some  of  the  best  Irish  scholars.     It  may- 
be thus  stated. 

MacPherson  'stole  the  well-known  poems  of  Oisin, 
who  was  an  Irish  bard  of  the  third  century,  the  son  of 
Fionn  and  father  of  Osgur,  and  who  shared  in  their 
exploits  and  survived  them,  and  disputed  with  St. 
Patrick  concerning  the  Christian  religion,  and  boasted 
of  his  youthful  deeds  in  his  old  age.  These  Irish  poems 
were  translated  into  English  prose,  and  subsequently 
into  Scotch  Gaelic  verse,  and  the  Gaelic  published  in 
1807  is  the  result  of  this  double  process,  and  of  nume- 
rous forgeries,  falsifications,  and  alterations,  done  and 
committed  by  James  MacPherson  to  discredit  Ire- 
land. 

To  support  this  sweeping  claim  it  is  necessary  to 
produce  the  Irish  poems  in  question,  and  prove  that 
they  are  genuine,  old,  and  Irish — the  work  of  Oisin 
and  of  no  one  else  ;  and  then  to  point  out  the  passages 
which  are  translations,  and  shew  that  they  are  not 
paraphrases,  or  the  original  compositions  of  MacPherson 
or  of  some  other  ancient  or  modern  bard. 

To  upset  this  claim  it  is  necessary  to  produce  old 
Scotch  versions  of  the  Gaelic  poems  claimed,  and  to 
shew  that  they  were  known  in  Scotland,  or  published 
there,  before  they  were  published  in  Ireland. 

I  hold  that  all  these  current  theories  are  erroneous ; 
and  as  the  Irish  is  the  most  modern,  the  best  supported, 
and  the  most  opposed  to  the  common  English  view, 
which  is  furthest  from  the  truth,  I  will  endeavour  to 
shew  how  far  I  agree  with  its  supporters,  and  wherein 
they  seem  to  me  to  err.     I  would  willingly  add  all 


I  2  OSSIAN — IRISH  ARGUMENT. 

that  I  can  to  the  larger  stock  of  knowledge  possessed  by 
others,  and  I  would  gladly  discover  the  truth  if  I 
could. 

The  arguments  now  used  by  the  supporters  of  the 
Scotch  and  Irish  controversy  will  be  found  in  the  pub- 
lications of  the  Ossianic  Society  of  Dublin,  and  in  the 
West  of  Scotland  Magazine,  which  works  are  well  worth 
the  attention  of  all  who  care  for  Celtic  literature,  and 
admire  Celtic  combativeness.  Valuable  information  is 
given,  but  valuable  space  is  occupied  by  suicidal  attacks 
on  Celts,  their  language  and  their  literature ;  old  rusty 
taunts,  which  great  men  hurled  at  each  other  in  their 
rage  nearly  a  century  ago,  are  picked  up  by  smaller 
men,  and  thrown  freely  about  still,  though  they  have 
lost  their  point  and  Ml  harmless.  Irish  writers  attack 
writers  on  the  Scotch  side,  who  retaliate,  and  the  others 
retort,  and  so  the  cause  of  Celtic  literature  is  damaged 
by  both ;  for  each  is  intent  on  injuring  the  other,  on 
pulling  down  rather  than  building  up.  The  only 
writer  who  has  attacked  me  is  a  brother  Celt,  who  uses 
a  borrowed  weapon  which  owed  its  sting  to  its  owner's 
fame,  and  says,  that  I  am  so  intensely  Scotch  as  to  "love 
Scotland  better  than  truth,"  whereas  I  simply  stated 
my  opinion  about  the  controversy  which  generated  the 
taunt.  I  am  ready  to  admit  that  Ossian  or  Oisin  was 
an  Irishman,  when  it  is  proved.  I  know  that  traditional 
and  manuscript  poems  attributed  to  him  have  been 
known  in  Ireland  for  centuries.  It  is  true  that  most 
of  the  old  Gaelic  manuscripts  are  written  in  the  so- 
called  Irish  character ;  but  nevertheless,  I  hold  that 
the  Irish  scholar  who  writes  the  following  passages  does 


OSSIÀN — IRISH  ARGUMENT.  I  3 

not  succeed  in  proving  that  MacPherson  stole  his  mate- 
rials from  Ireland  :— 

"  It  has  also  been  shewn,  on  unquestionable  authorities,  that 
the  Gael  of  Caledonia  were  colonies  from  Ireland,  and  spoke  and 
wrote  in  the  language  of  their  mother  country.  From  the  con- 
tinued intercourse  carried  on  between  the  two  nations  from  the 
third  to  the  sixteenth  century,  it  is  evident  that  the  same  man- 
ners and  customs,  the  same  traditions,  legends,  historical  compo- 
sitions, poems,  songs,  and  music,  were  common  to  both."  [Page 
227,  Vol.  V.,  Transactions  of  the  Ossiaoic  Society.] 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  clear  that  all  the  Gael 
in  Caledonia  emigrated  from  Ireland.  It  seems  pro- 
bable that  a  Gaelic-speaking  population  of  Celtic  tribes 
once  pervaded  the  greater  part  of  Europe  and  the  whole 
of  Great  Britain ;  and  some  of  these  surely  travelled 
north  overland,  if  others  crossed  the  sea  from  Ireland 
to  Scotland  There  are  plenty  of  cases  in  which  whole 
tribes  have  passed  from  Scotland  to  Ireland,  for 
example,  the  MacLeans  migrated  from  Islay.  But  be 
that  as  it  may,  if  it  be  true,  as  it  is  asserted,  that 
"  many  of  the  poems  of  Oisin  the  Irish  bard,  and  other 
Fenian  poets,  are  still  preserved  in  Irish  manuscripts," 
some  "  as  old  as  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries ;" 
if  "  these  poems  made  their  way  to  Scotland  at  an 
early  period,"  and  if  "  there  cannot  be  a  stronger  proof 
of  their  great  antiquity  than  their  preservation  in  that 
country  for  so  many  centuries  by  oral  tradition,  although 
with  dialectic  changes : "  if  all  this  be  true,  and  I  neither 
admit  nor  deny  the  statement  here,  it  does  not  prove 
the  writer's  case,  though  it  supports  mine. 


I  4  OSSIAN — IRISH  ARGUMENT. 

He  asserts  that  MacPherson  stole  Ossian  from  Irish 
originals ;  I  hold  that  he  did  not ;  and  he  shews  that 
the  very  poems  on  which  he  founds  his  case  have  been 
known  for  ages  where  MacPherson  asserts  that  he  found 
his  originals,  and  that  they  existed  in  a  traditional  ver- 
nacular Scotch  costume. 

He  proves,  mayhap,  that  the  muse  who,  for  any 
thing  I  know,  wears  gilded  vellum  in  Ireland,  is 
a  barefooted  lassie  dressed  in  ordinary  homespun  in 
Scotland ;  but  who  is  to  say  which  is  nearest  to  the 
Poems  of  Oisin,  the  language  of  the  people,  or  that  of 
cultivated  scribes?  Who  is  to  decide  whether  these 
were  popular  ballads  or  courtly  poems  at  first  Ì  Mac- 
Pherson has  enough  to  answer  for  without  making  him 
worse  than  he  is  ;  and  it  seems  unjust  to  accuse  him  of 
stealing  things  which  he  found  at  home. 

Ossian  resembles  those  ancient  Irish  poems  which 
I  have  seen,  less  than  it  does  the  traditional  ballads 
collected  and  printed  in  Scotland  at  the  end  of  last  cen- 
tury, many  of  which  were  again  collected  from  the 
people  last  year. 

But  this  Irish  "Introduction  to  the  poems  of 
Ossian  by  MacPherson "  will  astonish  an  English 
reader  unacquainted  with  the  Celtic  side  of  this  curi- 
ous controversy.  The  arguments  fight  amongst  them- 
selves, and  the  authorities  quoted  contradict  each  other, 
while  the  writer  contends  with  friends,  and  allies  him- 
self with  foes.  We,  children  of  the  Gael,  walk  "  shoulder 
to  shoulder,"  but  we  are  apt  to  dig  our  elbows  into  each 
other's  ribs.     Thus  it  is  argued  that — 


OSSIAN IRISH  ARGUMENT.  I  J 

"  If  Ossian  wrote  his  poems  in  North  Britain  in  the  third 
century,  he  must  have  been  either  an  Irishman,  or  the  descendant 
of  an  Irishman,  who  had  recently  come  from  ancient  Scotia 
(Ireland)  to  settle  in  that  country  (Scotland) ;  and  his  language 
must  have  been  pure  Irish,  undefiled,  of  that  period,  and  not  the 
corrupt  patois  ascribed  to  him  by  MacPherson." 

But  at  page  199  it  is  said,  that  "the  language  of  the 
poems,  if  properly  spelled,  and  read  by  an  Irish 
scholar,  would  be  intelligible  to  the  most  illiterate 
peasant  in  Ireland." 

But  if  Ossian's  Gaelic  is  Scotch,  modern,  and  a  cor- 
rupt patois,  and  comprehensible  in  Ireland,  so  is  the 
Gaelic  of  the  traditional  poems  claimed,  and  Irish  must 
be  a  corrupt  patois  also. 

Further  on,  at  page  227,  the  preservation  in  Scot- 
land of  certain  poems  in  this  Gaelic,  patois  common  to 
modern  Irish,  and  Scotch  Gael  is  quoted  to  prove 
their  Irish  origin  and  their  antiquity. 

But  if  the  preservation  of  poems  in  patois  tradition- 
ally on  one  side  of  the  water  be  proof  of  their  antiquity 
and  origin  on  the  other,  ancient  Gaelic  manuscripts, 
wherever  found,  should  at  least  be  common  property, 
and  count  for  both  sides,  for  there  are  no  manuscripts 
in  the  Gaelic  of  the  third  century,  and  one  of  the  earliest 
known  is  attributed  to  Columbkill,  the  founder  of  Iona. 

At  page  179,  Martin  is  quoted  as  mentioning  the 
existence  of  Irish  manuscripts  in  the  Western  Islands 
in  1716  ;  and  at  page  190,  it  is  stated  that  the  Bishop 
of  Clonfert,  in  1784,  found  Gaelic  manuscript  poems 
there,  on  which  MacPherson  had  founded  some  of  his 
English ;  but  it  is  said — "  It  is  now  pretty  certain  that 


1 6  088IAN—  IRISH  ARGUMENT. 

he  (MacPherson)  had  no  originals ;  "  and  Dr.  Johnson's 
authority  is  used,  to  shew  that  "  the  poems  of  Ossian 
never  existed  in  any  other  form  than  that  in  which  we 
have  seen  them,"  that  is,  in  English,  These  authorities 
disagree  sadly.     It  is  asserted,  p.  178,  that 

"  Fragments  of  the  compositions  of  the  Irish  bard  Oisin  were 
conveyed  to  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  from  time  to  time  by  the 
Irish  Shanachies.  They  were  there  committed  to  memory  by 
story-tellers,  and  recited  as  they  had  been  in  Ireland.** 

But  a  Shanachie  means  a  teller  of  old  tales  and  tradi- 
tions, and  some  must  surely  have  gone  to  Eirinn  from 
Scotland,  since  the  supposed  date  of  Ossian. 

Martin,  Johnson,  the  Bishop  of  Clonfert,  and  the 
writer  who  quotes  them,  cannot  all  be  right.  It  is 
argued  that  Irish  and  Scotch  Gael  and  Gaelic  were 
identical  in  the  third  century,  and  are  almost  the  same 
still ;  Gaelic  manuscripts  found  in  Scotland  are  quoted 
and  claimed  for  Ireland,  while  it  is  said  that  the  people 
had  all  things  in  common,  and  are  the  same.  MacPherson, 
it  is  said,  had  no  originals  : — and  stole  them  from  Ire- 
land. Johnson  says  there  was  nothing  but  English  ; 
Martin,  that  there  were  old  Irish  MSS. ;  the  Bishop,  that 
there  were,  and  that  they  contained  poems  which  were 
the  foundations  of  the  English  :  but  if  MacPherson  had 
access  to  "  Shanachies  "  in  the  "Western  Islands,  and 
there  found  old  manuscripts  which  contained  poems 
which  he  used,  then  he  had  originals  ;  and  the  Doctor 
and  the  essayist  who  quotes  him  are  in  error.  If  he 
had  none  of  these  things,  the  Doctor  is  right ;  but  the 
essayist  errs  again,  for  in  that  case  the  English  Ossian 


OSSIAN IETSH  ARGUMENT.  1 7 

was  the  original  composition,  and  Ireland  has  no 
claim  at  all,  unless  she  will  accept  of  MacPherson,  who 
certainly  was  an  original,  whether  he  was  a  poet  or  not. 

So,  whether  MacPherson  mistranslated  Irish  ori- 
ginals, or  invented  the  English  of  Ossian's  poems,  the 
charge  of  theft  is  unjust,  for  a  Scotch  Celt  had  a 
right  to  use  common  Celtic  property  found  in  Scotland, 
and  an  author  has  a  right  to  use  his  own  ideas. 

If  the  story  told  in  Drummond's  Ancient  Irish 
Minstrelsy,  page  11,  be  true,  MacPherson  could  not 
have  used  ancient  Irish  MSS.  if  he  had  found  them 
in  Scotland.  He  was  shewn  some  in  the  Bodleian 
library,  and  was  forced  to  acknowledge  that  he  could 
neither  read  nor  translate  them.  If  so,  he  must  have 
worked  from  Scotch  traditions,  or  manuscripts  more 
easily  read,  or  from  his  own  head. 

Again,  the  essayist,  having  made  out  that  ancient 
and  modern  " Irish* '  and  "  Earse"  were  and  are  the  same, 
at  page  180,  quotes  Johnson — "There  are  not  in  the 
Gaelic  language  five  hundred  lines  that  can  be  proved 
to  be  one  hundred  years  old."  He  quotes  the  venerable 
Charles  O'Connor  of  Balingare,  who,  in  1775,  said  the 
same  on  the  great  Doctor's  authority ;  and  Dr.  Young, 
afterwards  Bishop  of  Clonfert,  who,  in  1784,  held  that 
"  Earse  "  was  not  a  written  language  till  within  a  few 
years  of  the  time  when  he  was  in  the  Highlands. 

But  at  page  219,  an  account  is  given  of  an  ancient 
"Irish"  vellum  manuscript,  compiled  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, which  "  contains  two  poems  by  Oisin,  who  lived 
in  the  third,"  and  it  is  added — 
vol.  rv.  o 


1 8  OSSIAN IRISH  ARGUMENT. 

"  We  have  no  reason  to  donbt  their  genuineness  as  being 
originally  the  compositions  of  Oisin,  when  we  remember  the 
many  liberties  of  modernizing  the  language  usually  taken  by  the 
scribes,  through  whom  they  have  been  handed  down  to  us.  One 
of  these  poems  by  Oisin  relates  to  the  battle  of  Gaura,  and  has 
appeared  in  one  of  the  volumes  of  the  Ossianic  Society." 

If  the  poem  meant  be  that  on  the  "  Battle  of 
Gabhra,"  the  first  book  of  Temora  is  founded  upon  the 
same  incidents;  and  a  traditional  version,  of  1860, 
is  at  page  304  of  this  volume,  and  that  is  almost 
the  same  as  the  traditional  version  printed  at  Perth  in 
1786,  and  got  in  Scotland.  So  the  argument  is  all 
for  MacPherson  and  against  the  authorities,  for  it 
proves  that  Temora  is  founded  on  incidents  which  were 
made  the  subject  of  Gaelic  poems  in  the  twelfth 
century.  A  man  cannot  eat  his  cake  and  have  his 
cake ;  he  cannot  claim  property  as  common,  and  deny 
the  right  of  a  joint  tenant ;  he  cannot  claim  tradition, 
and  withhold  manuscripts  ;  assert,  and  in  the  same 
breath  deny  the  identity  of  Scotch  and  Irish  Celts. 
Johnson,  who  knew  neither  Earse  nor  Irish,  might  err, 
but  a  writer  who  knows  both  should  not  use  his 
authority,  point  out,  and  then  adopt  his  error. 

At  page  190  it  is  said — "  It  is  notorious  that  the 
poem3  of  Ossian  are  not  mentioned  in  any  Scotch  his- 
tory a  hundred  years  old;"  but  at  186  is  a  quotation 
from  Bishop  CarswelTs  Gaelic  Prayer  Book,  printed  in 
Scotland  in  1567,  nearly  three  hundred  years  ago  : — 

"  They  (the  Scotch  Celts)  for  whom  the  book  was   printed, 
desire  and  accustom  themselves  more  to  compose,  maintain,  and 


OSSIAN — IBISH  ARGUMENT.  1 9 

cultivate  idle,  turbulent,  lying,  worldly  stories  concerning  the  Tuath 
Dedanans,  the  sons  of  Milesius,  the  heroes,  and  concerning  Fionn 
MacCumhaill  and  na  Fhianaibh." 

This  seems  to  dispose  of  a  good  deal  of  the  argu- 
ment ;  it  proves  that  Gaelic  was  not  only  written,  but 
printed  for  Scotchmen  to  read  at  a  very  early  date, 
and  that  Scotch  Gael  then  composed  and  delighted  in 
compositions  relative  to  the  same  heroes  who  figure  in 
Ossian,  in  ancient  Gaelic  MSS.,  and  in  modern  tradi- 
tional poems,  Scotch  and  Irish.  But  Dean  Mac- 
Gregor's  Gaelic  MS.  was  written  in  1530,  in  Scot- 
land, and  is  mentioned  in  books  which  are  quoted  by 
the  essayist ;  so  those  who  held  that  Gaelic  was  an 
unwritten  language  till  the  eighteenth  century  clearly 
erred ;  and  he  who  knows  the  error  should  not  use 
their  authority. 

Again,  it  has  been  said  that  MacPherson  had  no 
originals,  but  at  page  190  the  Bishop  of  Clonfert  is  quoted 
to  prove  that  he  had.  The  bishop  made  a  tour  of  the 
Highlands  in  1784  to  collect  ancient  Gaelic  poems,  and 
he  there  found  several  of  the  "Irish"  poems  on  which, 
as  he  surmised,  MacPherson  had  founded  some  of  his 
English.  These  were  contained  in  manuscripts  which 
the  bishop  copied,  and  he  points  out  how  these  sup- 
posed originals  had  been  altered  by  the  translator.  He 
says  (191)-t- 

11  Till  the  poems  themselves  he  published,  it  will  certainly  he 
impossible  to  distinguish  the  ancient  from  the  modern,  the  real 
from  the  fictitious,  and  therefore,  however  we  may  admire  them 
as  beautiful  compositions,  we  can  never  rely  on  their  authenticity 
in  any  question  of  history,  antiquity,  or  criticism. 


20  0S8IAN IRISH  ARGUMENT. 

"  When  MacPherson  professed  to  be  merely  a  translator,  be 
was  not  justified  to  omit  what  appeared  to  him  to  be  modern  fa- 
brications, and  in  their  stead  to  add  passages  of  his  own,  as  ac- 
knowledged by  his  advocates  ;  he  should  have  neither  added  nor 
mutilated  his  originals,  but  ought  to  have  permitted  the  world  to 
judge  in  these  cases  for  themselves." 

Against  such  reasonable  arguments  there  is  nothing 
to  be  said,  but  the  Introduction  to  the  Poems  of  Ossian 
aims  at  a  great  deal  more.  Its  argument  seems  to 
amount  to  this — 

The  Gael  of  Scotland  were  an  Irish  colony  who 
crossed  from  Ireland  to  Scotland  before  the  third  cen- 
tury, and  placed  about  sixteen  miles  of  sea  between 
themselves  and  th«  mother  country ;  they  have  been 
in  constant  communication  with  her  ever  since  ;  they 
WTote  Irish,  and  spoke  Irish,  and  still  speak  a  corrupt 
dialect  of  that  language.  Scotch  lowlanders  called  it 
Earse,  meaning  thereby  Irish ;  Celts  call  it  Gaelic,  and  ;: 
mean  the  same.  Scotland  means  the  land  of  an  Irish 
tribe,  from  whom  Ireland  should  be  called  Scotia  ; 
the  Celts  on  both  sides  have  gone  on  repeating  the 
same  poems  and  legends  for  centuries ;  they  have  all 
things  in  common,  and  are  the  same  people ;  but  the 
people  on  one  side  have  no  claim  to  anything. 

Irishmen  took  over  the  Scone  stone,  and  founded 
the  dynasty  which  has  been  crowned  upon  it  ever 
since.  Ireland  sent  Columbkill  to  Iona,  where  a  series 
of  Irish,  English,  Scandinavian,  and  Scotch  kings  and 
chiefs  were  buried ;  and  yet  during  all  that  long 
period  of  time,  which  includes  nearly  the  whole  his- 
tory of  England,  and  a  large  portion  of  that  of  the 


0SSIAIT — IRISH  AEGUMENT.  2  I 

world  —  whilst  the  Norsemen,  who  possessed  the 
islands  of  Scotland  and  a  large  part  of  Ireland,  and 
migrated  thence  to  people  Iceland,  were  sailing  about 
from  Labrador  to  Constantinople,  conquering  Nor- 
mandy and  England,  and  making  themselves  a  mighty 
name,  and  whilst  Irish  churchmen,  some  of  whom 
reached  Iceland  before  the  Norsemen,  wandered  over 
great  part  of  Europe,  and  Iona  was  a  refuge  for  learning 
— the  small  strait  between  Ireland  and  Eontyre  allowed 
no  reflux.     Whatever  is  Celtic  is  Irish. 

I  hold  that  this  is  claiming  too  much,  and  that 
MacPherson  was  scarcely  more  unjust  when  he  threw 
discredit  upon  Irish  antiquities.  He  made  himself  and 
a  particular  class  of  Gaelic  poetry  famous  j  but  what 
he  found  was  common  property  derelict — old  Celtic 
poetry,  little  noticed  before  his  day.  When  he  claimed 
the  whole  for  Scotland,  or  altered  what  he  got,  he 
was  unfair ;  but  to  maintain  the  identity  of  a  people 
from  the  third  century  till  now,  and  deny  the  right  of 
Celts  to  Celtic  literature,  is  unreasonable. 

Whatever  may  be  said,  the  poems  of  Ossian  are 
printed  in  the  Scotch  dialect,  in  modern  orthography,  and 
Roman  type,  and  some  Gaelic  poet  must  have  composed 
them  before  1807;  they  are  poems,  not  prose  transla- 
tions from  English  prose ;  and  their  existence  refutes 
this  Irish  theory,  whose  supporters  refute  each  other. 
For  example,  at  page  193  is  the  story  of  Colonel  Shaw, 
secretary  to  the  Marquess  of  Wellesley,  who,  when  a 
boy,  went  to  London  and  astonished  an  old  lady  there, 
who  read  him  some  of  MacPherson's  Ossian  in  Eng- 
lish, by  saying,  "  I  have  heard  all  these  stories  before 


22  OSSIAN IRISH  ARGUMENT. 

from  my  nurse  in  Ireland,  who  related  them  in  the 
original  Irish." 

Then,  were  they  genuine,  and  composed  by  some 
Irishman  1  No,  for  at  p.  1 95  is  the  other  story  that  Mac- 
Pherson,  who  was  not  Irish,  acknowledged  to  a  private 
friend  "the  imposition  of  this  English  publication, 
with  the  attempt  of  translating  it  into  modern  Earse." 

Both  these  cannot  be  true,  so  it  is  best  to  believe 
neither,  and  follow  the  advice  of  OTlanagan,  who  is 
quoted,  p.  194  : — 

"Let  us  both,  modern  Scotch  and  Irish,  pursue  the  more 
honourable  end  of  preserving  the  valuable  remains  of  our  own 
ancient  literature,  which  was  of  yore,  and  may  again  be  our 
common  property." 

So  say  I  also ;  but  common  property  does  not  mean, 
"What's  yours  is  mine,  what's  mine's  my  own,"  as  it 
seems  to  do  in  the  "Introduction  to  the  poems  of  Ossian." 
Let  Ireland  take  her  fair  share  of  all  the  fame  and  all 
the  blame  that  belongs  to  James  MacPherson,  for  he  was 
a  Celt,  and  let  her  sons  cease  to  run  down  poems  which 
have  gained  a  world-wide  celebrity,  because  incidents 
recorded  in  old  Irish  manuscript  poems  can  be  traced  in 
them,  and  Celtic  worthies  and  real  Irish  wars  are  clearly 
referred  to.  Let  Irish  nurses,  shanachies,  and  scribes, 
take  their  fair  share  of  credit  for  preserving  what  is  old 
and  genuine,  but  without  refusing  the  credit  due  to  old 
Scotch  Highlanders  who  have  done  the  same.  Above 
all,  let  us  search  for  the  truth  rather  than  seek  out 
faults,  for  Ossian  is  perhaps  the  most  famous  publica- 
tion of  modern  times,  and  it  is  Gaelic  now,  and  was 


OSSIAN IRISH  ARGUMENT.  23 

founded  upon  genuine  old  Gaelic  poems  and  traditions, 
all  argument  and  authority  notwithstanding. 

While  MacPherson's  misdeeds  meet  their  reward, 
let  it  be  remembered  that  others  similarly  tempted 
have  fallen  and  failed.  Chatterton  had.  no  founda- 
tion for  his  attempt,  and  failed.  MacPherson  had  a 
wide  foundation,  and  built  upon  it,  and  succeeded,  and 
made  a  fortune  and  a  name ;  but  honest  Welsh  Owen 
Jones,  who  followed  them  both,  and  whose  work  is  all 
solid  foundation,  dug  out  of  old  manuscripts,  is  still 
almost  unknown,  though  his  patient  industry  com- 
mands the  respect  of  all  who  know  his  history.* 

I  hold,  then,  that  an  unprejudiced  man  who  'has 
read  this  Irish  argument,  must  attribute  much  of  the 
groundwork  of  the  poems  of  Ossian  to  unknown  bards 
far  older  than  MacPherson,  but  not  one  line  as  it 
now  stands  to  Ossian,  Oisein,  or  Oisin,  if  that  bard  lived 
in  the  third  century.  I  doubt  if  any  one  old  popular 
traditional  ballad  now  exists  anywhere  in  the  same 
words  in  which  it  was  originally  composed,  and  I  think 
that  this  national  squabble  between  England,  Wales, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  Highlands,  and  Lowlands,  about 
poems  which  belong  to  the  literature  of  the  whole  United 
Kingdom,  should  now  cease.  It  is  as  if  a  man  should 
fall  out  with  himself,  rap  his  own  knuckles,  tread  on 
his  own  toes,  punch  his  own  head,  bite  off  his  nose  to 
spite  his  face,  and  use  his  brains  and  his  tongue  to  per- 
suade and  summon  the  rest  of  the  world  to  help  him  to 
extinguish  himself 

The  common  opinion  amongst  Lowland  Scots  is 

elics  of  Welsh  Bards,  by  E.  Jones,  3  vols.  4to. 


24     OSSIAN — CUBRENT  OPINIONS — LOWLAND  SCOTCH. 

expressed  at  the  fourth  page  of  Irving's  History  of 
Scottish  Poetry,  a  work  of  great  research,  published  in 
1861  ;  in  which  it  is  shewn  that  lowland  authors,  of  all 
ages,  have  had  a  fling  at  Celts  and  their  literature* 

"  It  is  no  longer  pretended  that  any  Gaelic  poetry  has  been 
preserved  in  early  manuscripts,  and  indeed  the  period  when 
Gaelic  can  be  traced  as  a  written  language  is  comparatively 
modern." 

But  the  next  sentence  admits  that  ancient  poems  were 
preserved  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  the  notes 
flatly  contradict  the  text.  The  Bishop  of  Clonfert  and 
the  report  of  the  Highland  Society  are  quoted.  The 
discoveries  of  the  one  in  1784  are  mentioned  above, 
the  other  gives  an  account  of  many  ancient  Gaelic 
manuscripts  which  contain  poems,  including  Dean 
MacGregor's,  which  is  some  forty  years  older  than  the 
MS.  of  George  Bannatyne,  and  contains  11,000  lines 
of  poetry,  at  least  as  old  as  1530. 

Welsh  writers  who  have  taken  part  in  the  Ossianic 
controversy  have  generally  taken  a  similar  view. 

And  now,  having  said  this  much  as  to  opinions 
and  arguments  from  which  I  differ,  let  me  give  the 
facts  which  I  have  been  able  to  gather  during  the  last 
two  years,  and  state  my  own  opinions,  so  that  others 
may  judge  for  themselves,  and  give  their  verdict. 


EEEOBS  OP  OSalAN ADTOOKlTreS. 

AUTBTOBITIEB. 


Srntlsnd, 


The  firat  question  for  inquiry  is,  who  and  what 
were  the  heroes  of  Ossian  9 

According  to  Professor  O'Curry'a  Lectures,  the  fol- 
lowing dates  rest  upon  ancient  authority* — 

Finn's  pedigree  begins.  Finn  son  of  Cumhall,  son 
of  Trenrnàr,  son  of  Snaelt,  son  of  Elton,  son  of  Batsetti, 
son  of  Nuada  Necht,  who  was  monarch  of  Ireland 
ao.  110. 

Finn  slain,  in  the  reign  of  Cairbrè  Lifeachair. 

Battle  of  Gabhra.  Death  of  Oscar  and  Cairbre 
(p.  304). 

•  Lectures  on  the  MB.  Materiali  of  Ancient  Irish  History, 

by  ProfeMor  O'Cnny,  8to,  Dublin,  1861. 


26  HEROES  OP  OSSIAN AUTHORITIES. 

Coming  of  St  Patrick  to  Ireland  (p.  472),  to  whom 
Oisin,  the  son  of  Finn,  and  Caelte  his  kinsman  and 
contemporary,  recited  poems  describing  the  glories  of 
the  ancient  race,  and  the  localities  of  famous  events. 

In  a  matter  of  such  antiquity  it  is  of  small  im- 
portance that  Oisin,  who  had  a  grown  up  son  in  284, 
must  have  been  about  180  years  old  in  432,  and  more 
than  200  before  St.  Patrick  could  have  built  the 
monasteries  in  which  the  poor  old  blind  Irish  bard  was 
so  grieved,  starved,  and  tormented  by  jangling  bells, 
droning  psalms,  and  howling  clerics  ;  it  is  proved  that 
the  names  of  the  old  Fenian  heroes  were  known  when 
very  ancient  manuscripts  were  written,  and  that  is 
enough.  So,  taking  the  third  century  as  a  starting 
point,  let  us  take  a  rapid  voyage  of  discovery  down  the 
stream  of  time,  carrying  with  us  the  published  Gaelic 
Ossian,  and  noticing  anything  old  that  bears  upon 
Gaelic  traditions  at  its  proper  place.  If  Scotchmen 
and  Irishmen  will  not  pull  in  the  same  boat,  let  there 
be  no  bumping,  or  jostling,  or  fouling,  but  a  fair  race 
for  what  may  be  left  of  the  poems  when  the  voyage 
ends  ;  if  any  one  is  bored  by  such  races  he  need 
not  follow  the  boats,  he  may  skip  over  a  short  cut 
to  the  winning-post,  but  if  he  does  he  must  not  give 
an  opinion  about  the  line  of  country  which  he  is  too 
lazy  to  travel. 

First,  then,  let  it  be  granted  that  Finn  lived  in  Ire- 
land at  the  end  of  the  third  century,  and  that  the  first 
book  of  Temora  is  founded  upon  an  event  which  took 
place  in  Ireland  before  the  book  of  Leinster  was 
written,  if  not  in  284 ;  but  it  must  be  granted,  on  the 


HEROES  OP  OSSIAN AUTHORITIES.  27 

Irish  side,  that  Hector  Boyce  made  Finn  a  Scot  and 
a  giant  in  1526,  when  the  Scotch  historian  published 
his  work.* 

The  passage  is  partly  quoted  in  the  Highland  So- 
ciety's Keport  on  Ossian,  and  p.  170,  Hist,  of  Scotch 
Poetry,  and  pait  of  it  is  as  follows  : — "  Conjiciunt 
quidam  in  haec  tempora  Finanum  filium  Cceli  (Fyn 
MakCoul  vulgari  vocabulo)  virum  uti  ferunt  immani 
statura  septenum  enim  cubitorum  hominem  fuisse  nar- 
rant" 

So,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  Fyn  was  the  son  of 
heaven,  and  the  historian  then  ranked  him  with  King 
Arthur;  and  tales  and  other  compositions  concerning 
Fyn  with  the  Arthurian  fables.  It  must  also  be 
granted,  that  numerous  Celtic  worthies  bore  Ossianic 
names  besides  the  Irish  heroes.  Eugenius  I.,  son  of 
Fin-Cormach-us,  was  a  king  of  Scotland  slain  in  battle 
with  the  Eomans,  a.  d.  357.  Ferg-us  (Wrath- us)  was 
the  name  of  a  Scotch  king  who  was  lost  in  the  Irish 
sea,  a  c.  330,  and  many  historical  personages  have 
borne  that  name  besides  the  Irish  bard  Fergus,  the 
son  of  Finn  MacCumhal  of  a.  d.  280.  Cumhal,  again, 
is  like  many  Celtic  names ;  it  sounds  like  Coil-us,  who 
was  a  king  of  the  Britons,  and  if  he  be  the  hero  of 
the  English  ballad,  his  was  a  rough  age  : — 

"  Old  King  Cole,  unsophisticated  soul, 
Neither  read  nor  write  could  he, 
To  read  and  to  write  he  thought  useless  quite, 
For  he  kept  a  secretarie." 

*  Scotorum  Historia,  f.  czzziii.    Paris,  1517 . 


28  HEROES  OF  066IAN AUTHOBITIXa 

Congall-us  was  a  Scotch  king  in  501  or  thereabouts. 
There  were  many  Scotch  kings  called  Donald,  if  we 
can  believe  Scotch  history,  and  the  men  who  wrote 
these  names  were  generally  of  the  race  which  now  says 
" gprsong,  ung  ver  du  vang,  et  ung  morceau  du  pang" 
The  sound  of  the  French  and  Gaelic  nasal  o  and  u  are 
identical,  and  a  man  who  would  write  gaiBong  because 
he  seemed  to  hear  that  sound,  would  also  write  Mac- 
Donald,  as  it  is  now  pronounced  in  Gaelic,  Maco«(/il, 
and  one  sound  of  MacCumhal  would  be  Maccungil 
and  another  MacooiL    Now,  if  this  erroneous  ng,  which 
expresses  the  Saxon  value  of  the  French  and  Gaelic 
nasal  o  and  u,  and  the  word  Mac  be  struck  out,  there 
remains  a  nasal  o-il  or  u-il,  and  so,  instead  of  Cumhal, 
Coil-us,  Cole,  Cowl,  Cool,  CongaH-ua  Ztonald-us,  and 
Zhigald-us,  we  come  very  nearly  to  Hoel,  whose  son 
would  be  ap  Hoel,   O'Hoel,   or  Mac-Hoel,  and  thus 
Fionn  may  be  made  the  son  of  the  mythical  Welsh 
Howel,  or  of  some  great  man  who  bore  the  same  name 
before  the  flood.     By  a  like  easy  process,  Fionn  be- 
comes a  Macdougald,  and  as  Campbell  is  not  an  ancient 
Gaelic  name,    I  may  point  out  that  Camul  was  the 
"  Celtic  Mars,"   and  that   Camel-ot,    Camel-odunum, 
and  other  such  names,  all  savour  of  Cumhal,  though 
that  word  now  means  handmaid,  or  subjection,  accord- 
ing to  dictionaries. 

Fenian  names  also  appear  in  the  Milesian  story 
(p.  447  of  O'Curry's  Lectures).  Beginning  with  Japhet, 
and  Magog,  the  race  is  traced  through  Scythia,  Egypt, 
Scythia  again,  Greece,  and  Spain,  whence  a  colony 
came  to  Erinn  in  the  year  of  the  world  3500,  at  which 


HEROES  OP  OSSIAN AUTHORITIES.  29 

time  Ireland  was  governed  "by  the  three  sons  of 
Cermna  Milbheoil  (honey-mouth),  Ethur,  Cethur,  and 
Fether;  "  mythologically  known  as  MacCuill,  Mac- 
Ceacht,  and  MacGreine  ;"  who  were  Tuatha  dè  Danann, 
and  reigned  at  Tara.  Scota,  the  mother  of  the 
Milesian  leaders,  was  shortly  afterwards  slain  in  a 
battle,  and  one  of  her  sons  was  Eber  Finn.  So  Finn 
was  a  mythological  Milesian  long  before  the  Finn  of 
the  third  century,  and  MacCuil  Finn's  patronymic  was 
also  that  of  the  mythological  head  of  the  race  which 
the  Milesians  found  in  Ireland. 

Finn  is  also  one  of  the  commonest  names  in 
Scandinavia,  and  so  is  Kòl,  so  we  get  Finnr  Kolsen, 
the  equivalent  of  Fin  MacCowL  Oscar  is  also  common, 
and  is  interpreted  to  mean  As-gair  the  spear  of  the 
gods,  and  Oske  is  one  01  Odin's  numerous  names. 

In  the  twelfth  century,  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth 
names  Coillas,  and  Coel,  and  Conan,  as  British  heroes, 
and  according  to  the  chronicle,  Conan  was  made  king  of 
Armorica.  Sir  Gawain  is  probably  the  same  personage 
as  Gow  or  Gol,  the  son  of  Morna,  so  they  may  be 
"Welshmen  or  Bretons.  Phinn,  MacPhunn,  Fin-lay, 
and  scores  of  other  names  common  in  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  also  resemble  the  Ossianic  names.  But 
the  Finns  or  Lapps  inhabit  Finmark  at  this  day,  and 
have  all  along  been  magical  people  in  the  north,  so  the 
Celtic  heroes  may  be  Lapps.  In  the  story  of  Gunnhillda 
(Njal  Saga,  vol.  ii,  378),  we  learn  how,  in  the  tenth 
century,  a  beautiful  maiden  was  sent  to  Finmark  to 
learn  magic  from  the  Finns,  and  "  some  believed  that 
Mattul  the  Finnish  king  himself  was  her  master  in. 


30  HEROES  OP  OSSIAN AUTHORITIES. 

magic,"  but  Gunnhillda's  story  is  mixed  up  with  that  of 
the  whole  of  the  west  of  Europe,  in  that  she  was  a 
Viking's  bride,  and  mother  of  Scandinavian  kings,  so 
her  master  in  magic  may  be  MacCoul  himself  in  dis- 
guise. 

Feinne  may  be  Phoenician  or  Egyptian,  if  there  be 
any  truth  in  the  old  legend  about  Pharaoh's  daughter. 

In  like  manner  "  Art"  is  the  Gaelic  now  com- 
monly used  for  the  Christian  name  "  Art-hur,"  so  Art 
is  not  to  be  appropriated  to  any  one  Irish  king,  though 
there  may  have  been  an  early  Cormac  Mac  Art,  for 
there  was  an  early  British  Arthur,  of  whose  deeds 
romance  is  fulL  So  Bran  and  Conan  were  early  Welsh 
kings,  though  Brian  and  Conan  may  have  flourished  in 
Ireland.  Brenn-us  sacked  Rome  about  930  B.C.,  if 
Bran  was  Fiona's  magic  black  hound,  a.  d.  280 ;  and 
generally  it  must  be  granted  on  all  sides  that  the  early 
history  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  must  be  Celtic 
history,  and  that  the  best  place  to  get  at  it  is  Ireland, 
where  the  Celts  were  not  much  disturbed  till  a  compa- 
ratively late  period.  But  Irish,  Scotch,  Welsh,  Manx, 
and  Cornish,  and  Clyde  Celtic  history,  and  all  the  early 
romance  of  Europe,  is  so  tangled  and  twisted  together, 
that  it  will  be  no  easy  matter  to  unravel  the  skein. 
Without  some  knowledge  of  Gaelic  it  is  hopeless  to 
begin  upon  this  dark  history.  Let  me  give  one  ex- 
ample. There  is  a  Lord  Mayor  in  London,  and  in 
every  town  in  England.  Monsieur  le  Maire  is  a  French 
official  in*  every  village  in  France ;  the  mayors  of  the 
palace  played  their  part  in  French  history ;  the  Maor- 
mors  were  anciently  Scotch  great  men ;  but  very  few 


HEROES  OP  OSSIAN AUTHORITIES.  3  I 

know  that  maor,  pronounced  nearly  like  the  French 
word,  is  still  the  Highland  constable  and  ground  officer, 
and  civil  officer,  though  Inverness  has  a  provost 

But  I  have  now  to  do  with  the  heroes  of  "  Ossian's 
poems." 

In  Professor  0' Curry's  book,   a  vast  amount   of 
curious  information  is  given  relative  to  Irish  writings. 
It  appears  that  many  hundreds  of  these  are  preserved  in 
various  libraries  and  collections  at  home  and  abroad. 
They  contain  histories,  genealogies,  codes  of  law,  his- 
torical tales,  and  tales  of  all  kinds  ;  romances,  legends, 
and  poems  of  various  sorts,  and  "numerous  Ossianic 
poems  relating  to  the  Fenian  heroes,  some  of  them  of 
great  antiquity."     The  earliest  writing  is  Latin,  and  at- 
tributed to  the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  about  480 ;  others 
are  attributed  to  St  Colum  Cille*  and  the  sixth  century, 
others  to  the  tenth,  eleventh,  twelfth,  and  following  cen- 
turies, and  these  are  generally  assumed  to  be  Irish,  not 
Scotch,  because  of  their  language  and  the  character  in 
which  they  are  written.     Most  of  them  probably  were 
written  in  Ireland,  but  such  documents  must  be  judged 
by  their  contents.     I  received  a  letter  this  year  from  a 
Scotch   highlander   in   Glasgow,    part   of  which  was 
written  in  the  old  hand.    A  song  composed  by  Duncan 
Macintyre,  the  Breadalbane  bard,  was  written  in  the  old 
character  in    1768.     It  was   commonly,  though   not 
always,  used  before  that  time  ;  inscriptions  on  the  cross 
at  Inverary  and  other  old  stones  in  Scotland  are  in 
old  letters  and  in  obsolete  language.     St.  Colum  Cillè 
founded  Iona;    and  if  St.  Patrick's  churchmen  used 
old  letters,  the  saint  is  accused  of  having  been  born  in 


32  HEROES  OF  0881  AN — AUTHORITIES. 

Scotland.  Those  who  only  understand  modern  Irish 
or  Scotch  Gaelic  cannot,  without  study,  read  or  under- 
stand the  old  written  language,  which  is  and  always 
has  called  itself  Gaelic.  So  Scotchmen  and  Irishmen 
would  do  well  to  make  peace,  and  help  each  other  to 
use  these  old  records,  and  call  their  language  Gaelic, 
instead  of  Irish  or  Earse,  which  words  are  only  used 
in  speaking  English,  and  produce  discord. 

Now  these  ancient  Irish  documents  and  those 
which  are  preserved  in  Scotland,  like  Scotch  and 
Irish  traditions,  are  pervaded  by  the  variously  spelt 
names  of  Fkmn  or  Finn  and  his  worthies.  There  is 
hardly  a  grown  highlander  who  is  not  familiar  with 
their  names — they  are  household  words  at  the  fire- 
sides of  Irish  peasants ;  and  the  characters  and  relation- 
ships of  these  mythical  warriors  are  almost  invariably 
the  same.     They  are  the  heroes  of  Ossian. 

Professor  O'Ourry,  who  probably  knows  more  about 
Irish  lore  than  any  man  now  living,  and  has  spent  great 
part  of  his  life  in  reading  and  transcribing  old  manu- 
scripts, holds  that  the  "  Fenians,"  who  answer  to  the 
"Fingalians"  of  English  readers,  were  historical  Irish 
personages  who  flourished  in  the  third  century,  but 
he  shews,  p.  10,  that  Fer  Fène  was  written  in  the 
book  of  Eallymote  in  1391,  in  a  poem  composed  in 
1024,  and  he  translates  it  "Fène  men,  these  were 
farmers. "  Still,  Finn's  genealogy  is  traced  to  110  b.c, 
and  it  rests  upon  ancient  authority  that  Diarmaid 
O'Duibhne  ran  away  with  Grainne,  the  bride  of  Finn, 
and  daughter  of  Cormac  Mac  Art,  and  that  Finn's  son 
Oisin  was  a  warrior  poet. 


HEROES  OP  OSS1AN — AUTHORITIES.  3  3 

Poems  attributed  to  Finn  Mac  Cumhail,  his  sons 
Oisin  and  Fergus  Finnbheoil,  and  his  kinsman  Caeltè, 
do  exist  in  Gaelic  MSS.  seven  hundred  years  old.  Five 
of  these  poems  are  attributed  to  Finn  himself,  and  exist 
in  the  book  of  Leinster,  which  is  said  to  have  been  com- 
piled from  older  books  in  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth 
century;  and  in  the  book  of  Leacan,  compiled  1416.  Two 
poems  attributed  to  Oisin  are  in  the  book  of  Leinster. 
One  consists  of  seven  quatrains,  and  records  the  deaths 
of  Oscar  the  son  of  Oisin,  and  Cairbrè  Iifeachair, 
monarch  of  Erinn,  who  fell  by  each  other's  hands  at 
the  battle  of  Gabhra,  "fought  a.d.  284."  The  second 
is  longer,  and  records  early  races  on  the  Curragh  of  Kil- 
dare,  wherein  Oisin,  Caeltè,  and  Finn  were  gentlemen 
riders,  and  magical  personages  acted  the  part  of  modern 
sharpers,  and  tempted  the  heroes  into  unhallowed  dens 
near  Killarney,  where  they  spent  a  wild  night  after  the 
races.  Another  Gaelic  poem  of  undoubted  antiquity 
is  attributed  to  Fergus,  and  tells  how  Oisin  his  brother 
was  enticed  into  a  fairy  cave,  and  discovered  himself  to 
Finn  by  letting  chips  cut  from  his  spear-shaft  float 
down  a  stream ;  as  Diarmaid  betrayed  his  retreat  to 
Fionn  in  the  tradition  (page  43,  voL  iii.)  Another  is 
a  love  story,  which  Caelte"  is  supposed  to  have  recited 
to  St  Patrick. 

Professor  0' Curry  nowhere  says  that  the  "poems  of 
Ossian,"  as  published  in  1760  and  1807,  or  anything 
like  them  from  which  they  could  have  been  translated, 
exist  in  ancient  Irish  manuscripts,  and  gives  no  support 
to  the  argument  of  his  countryman ;  but  he  also  says, 
"  Of  MacPherson's  translations,  in  no  single  instance 
vol.  rv.  D 


34  HEROES  OF  OSSIAN — AUTHORITIES. 

has  a  genuine  Scottish  original  been  found,  and  that 
none  will  ever  be  found  I  am  very  certain."  If  he 
means  that  the  Gaelic  of  1807  never  can  be  found  in 
an  ancient  manuscript,  he  is  certainly  right,  for  the 
language  must  have  obeyed  the  common  law  of  change 
incident  to  all  languages ;  but  he  has  pointed  out  some 
of  the  incidents  on  which  the  first  book  of  Temora  is 
founded,  in  one  of  the  two  ancient  poems  which  were 
attributed  to  Oisin  in  the  tenth  century ;  and  it  is  beyond 
question  that  endless  stories  and  poems  about  Fionn  and 
his  people  have  been  for  centuries,  and  still  are  tradi- 
tionally preserved  in  Scotland,  as  well  as  in  Ireland. 
According  to  Irish  authorities,  then,  Gaelic  poems  are 
preserved  in  ancient  manuscript,  and  some  relate  to  the 
Ossianic  heroes,  but  they  were  Irishmen,  who  lived,  and 
loved,  and  fought  in  the  third  century,  and  not  Scotch- 
men ;  but  according  to  other  Irish  authorities,  these  men 
flourished  much  later.  Scotch  and  British  Fenians 
are  mentioned,  and  Scotch  Oscars  appear  in  Irish 
poems,  even  Danish  Oscars  are  named  in  Irish  books  ; 
and  the  feats  attributed  to  the  ancient  heroes  who  bore 
these  Ossianic  names,  and  whose  chief  was  Finn,  are 
often  the  exploits  of  giants  and  demigods. 

According  to  MacPherson  and  "  Ossian's  poems," 
Fingal  was  king  of  Morven,  and  lived  about  the  same 
time;  according  to  tradition,  which  scorns  dates  (see 
Ko.  lxxxii),  Fionn  was  the  son  of  a  Scotch  king  who 
came  from  Ireland,  and  of  a  Scandinavian  princess, 
and  drove  the  Scandinavians  from  Scotland,  having 
first  passed  through  many  adventures  in  Ireland.  As- 
suming that  he  lived  in  the  third  century,  he  may  have 


HEROES  OF  088IAN — AUTHORITIES.  35 

been  a  leader  of  Celts  in  their  early  fights  with  the 
Northmen,  Danes,  or  Anglo-Saxons,  who  followed  the 
Romans  ;  before  any  authentic  account  of  their  raids 
was  compiled,  and  before  men  thought  of  distinguish- 
ing between  Ireland  and  Scotland.  But  no  tradition 
now  current,  and  no  ancient  manuscript  of  which  I 
have  heard,  makes  any  mention  of  the  kingdom  of 
Morven  or  its  king  ~Emgal.  I  believe  that  the  king- 
dom is  an  invention  of  the  compounder  of  Ossian's 
poems,  whoever  he  may  have  been. 

The  name  Fionnaghal  is,  however,  no  modern  in- 
vention ;  Barbour  knew  it  as  "  F^ga!"  about  the  days 
of  Bruce.  It  occurs  in  a  Gaelic  song  printed  by  Gillies, 
1786,  and  composed  by  Iain  Lorn,  a  bard  who  sang 
about  the  time  of  Montrose,  and  died  1710  at  a  great 
age.  It  is  in  an  elegy  on  Glengarry  composed  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  in  which  the  poet  MacMathain 
or  Mathieson,  Seaforth's  bard,  calls  the  MacDonalds 
Sliochd  righ  Fionnaghail,  the  race  of  King  Fingal 
(Beauties  of  Gaelic  Poetry,  Mackenzie) ;  and  the  name 
also  occurs  in  a  traditional  story  now  current  in  Islay. 
Righ  Fionnaghal  according  to  this  was  a  MacDonald, 
and  "  king  of  the  Isles/'  and  lived  in  the  island  in  Loch 
Fionn-lagan  in  Islay,  where  are  the  ruins  of  the  habi- 
tation of  the  lords  of  the  Isles.  A  family  of  Mac-in- 
tyres  (sons  of  the  carpenter)  claim  to  be  descended 
from  an  illegitimate  son  of  this  King  Fingal ;  and 
Flora  Macintyre,  one  of  my  peasant  contributors, 
claims  to  be  one  of  them.  The  story  goes,  that  the 
king  and  his  son  were  at  sea  in  a  boat,  when  the  peg 
in  the  bottom  came  out  and  was  lost,  and  the  water 


$6  HEROES  OP  OSSIAN AUTHORITIES. 

rushed  in.  The  young  man,  who  had  never  gained 
the  notice  of  his  father,  thrust  his  thumb  into  the  hole 
and  chopped  it  off  with  an  axa  "  Mo  laochan  air 
saor  na  h-ordaig ! "  "  My  fine  lad,  the  thumb  car- 
penter," said  the  king ;  and  from  this  MacDonald, 
son  of  Fingal,  came  the  family  of  the  Thumb  Carpen- 
ters, who  are  still  called  Macintyres  in  Islay  ;  or  in 
Gaelic,  "  Mac  an  t-saor  na  h-ordaig."  MacDonald 
is  often  so  pronounced  as  to  make  the  name  resemble 
MacCumhaL     This  story  is  well  known  about  Arisaig. 

As  for  the  poet,  to  whom  nearly  all  the  old  poetry 
in  the  Highlands  is  now  attributed,  his  date  and  origin 
are  as  uncertain  as  his  father's.  If  he  was  Fionn's 
son  he  could  not  have  survived  to  converse  with  St. 
Patrick,  and  he  could  not  have  lived  with  a  fairy 
lady  in  the  land  of  youth;  he  is  in  Gaelic  popular 
tradition  and  old  Gaelic  lore  the  counterpart  of  Thomas 
the  Eymour,  who  was  a  living  man  in  1280,  and 
yet  went  to  fairy  land,  and  has  the  credit  of  being  a 
prophet,  a  magician,  and  a  poet — the  author  of  Sir 
Tristrem.  That  ancient  Scotch  poem  "  Sir  Tristrem,"  and 
the  oldest  Scotch  poems  known,  treat  mainly  of  Celtic 
worthies  and  their  adventures,  and  include  the  inci- 
dent of  the  good  knight  who  slays  a  dragon,  and  the 
false  servant  who  claims  the  honour  and  the  princess, 
which  is  in  the  Gaelic  "  Sea-maiden ;"  and  in  a  tale  told 
to  me  by  an  Irish  fiddler;  in  German,  Norse,  and 
other  popular  tales. 

There  is  a  popular  saying  still  current  in  Islay, 
which  joins  true  Thomas  to  a  common  Celtic  British 
legend.     He  is  supposed  to  be  still  living,  enchanted 


HEROES  OP  OSSIAN AUTHORITIES.  37 

• 

in  Dumbuck  (Dun-a-mhuic,  the  swine's  hill),  near 
Dumbarton  (Dunbreaton,  Mount  Breaton) ;  and  he 
appears  occasionally  in  search  of  horses  of  a  peculiar 
kind  and  colour.  He  pays  for  them  when  they  are 
brought  to  the  hill ;  and  the  vendor  sees  enchanted 
steeds  and  armed  men  within  the  rock.     It  is  said — 

Nuair  a  thig  Tomas  an  riom  *  's  à  chuid  each, 
Bidh  latha  nan  creach  an  Cluaidh. 

When  Thomas  of  power  and  his  horses  shall  come, 
The  day  of  plunderings  will  be  in  Clyde. 

The  date  of  Fionn  and  his  family  may  be  the  third 
century;  but  unless  there  were  many  who  bore  the 
same  names,  or  the  names  were  titles,  the  exploits  of  a 
series  of  men,  and  the  fabulous  deeds  of  mythological 
characters,  must  have  gathered  about  the  names  of  this 
single  family.  I  am  still  inclined  to  believe  that  these 
heroes  of  popular  romance  were  ancient  Celtic  gods. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  I  will  endeavour  to  shew  that 
their  names  have  been  current  for  a  very  long  time, 
and  that  Ireland  has  not  an  exclusive  right  to  them. 


According  to  a  Scottish  legend  given  by  Fordun,       203. 
etc.,  the  nation  of  the  Scots  embraced  Christianity  in 
the  reign  of  King  Donald,   consequently  sculptured 
stones,  even  with  Christian  symbols,  may  be  of  very 
ancient  date  in  Scotland. 

*  Riom  ball  (circle  of  power)  is  used  for  the  circle  within 
which  the  "in's"  stand  at  the  game  of  rounders.  The  Irish 
Osin  has  much  in  common  with  Thomas  the  Rymour,  according 
to  old  legends. 


38  OSBtAB — TRADITIONS,  WBIUNGB,  ETC 

St  Hinian  -was  bom ;  he  was  sou  of  a  British 
prince,  went  to  Borne,  founded  Candida  Casa,  or  "White- 
horn,"  and  converted  the  southern  Picte,  who  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  people  between  the  Firth  of 
Forth  and  the  Grampians. 


Figure  dressed  in  the  Belted  Fluid,  copied  from  in  ancient  sculptured  atone 
found  at  Bt  Andrews,  supposed  U>  represent  a  Plctlah  hnntlng  party. 
Date  unknown.    No  Christian  symbol*. 

St.  Patrick  preached  in  Ireland. 

Fergus,  son  of  Ere,  who  is  said  to  have  received 
the  blessing  of  St  Patrick  in  his  youth,  led  a  colony 
of  Dalriads  from  Ireland,  and  founded  the  Scottish 
monarchy. — {Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  pp.  4, 
11,  44,  49.)  Fergus  was  succeeded  by  Domangart, 
ComgaL  and  Coital,  by  whom  the  Island  of  Iona  was 
bestowed  upon  St,  Columba.  The  saint  is  supposed 
to  have  been  born  in  Donegal,  a.d.  521. 


OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC  39 

St.  Columba  landed  at  Iona,  and  shortly  afterwards  *63. 
preached  to  the  northern  Picts.  There  are  conse- 
quently good  reasons  why  the  traditions  of  Argyle 
should  still  resemble  Irish  traditions,  and  Conal  and 
Patrick  ought  to  be  conspicuous  names  in  West  High- 
land tales,  and  Picts  ought  to  appear. 

The  only  Gaelic  traditional  reference  to  a  people 
with  a  name  like  that  of  "  the  Picts "  is  an  occasional, 
"but  very  rare,  mention  of  Piocaich,  as  a  kind  of  men. 
The  word  pronounced  Pyuchk-aich  is  common  all  over 
the  west,  but  it  means  a  cole-fish  at  a  particular  stage 
of  its  growth.  Other  sizes  of  the  same  fish  are  called 
Cuddainn,  which,  as  "cuddy"  is  immortalized  by 
Johnson  as  caught  by  Boswell.  A  larger  size  is  Ceit- 
ean-ach,  derived  from  Ce,  the  world,  tein,  fire=ceit- 
ean  (part  of  April),  the  spring,  directly  after  which 
came  the  festival  of  Beal-tainn  and  its  symbolical  fires. 
So  "  Ceit-ean-ach"  means  a  "  spring  fish,"  and  some- 
thing very  like  the  fish  meant  is  sculptured  on  a  Pictish 
stone  in  Scotland  (see  voL  iii,  page  339,  left  hand, 
upper  corner),  and  these  stones  date  from  Pagan  times, 
and  probably  have  to  do  with  Pagan  observances. 

The  same  fish,  when  grown  very  large,  is  called 
"  ugsa,"  pr.  oox~ef  which  is  the  Norse  for  a  bull,  and 
the  whole  tribe  is  called  glas-iasg,  grey  or  green  fish. 
As  every  clan  has  some  fish,  beast,  bird,  and  plant  for 
a  badge,  perhaps  the  Picts  adopted  this  fish,  or  fish  in 
general,  as  their  badge,  and  thus  the  modern  name  of 
the  fish  may  be  the  ancient  name  of  a  tribe.  At  all 
events,  there  are  plenty  of  Lowland  traditions  about 
Picts  as  a  different  race,  but  there  are  scarcely  any  in 


40  0SSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

the  Highlands.  The  Irish  call  them  "  craithnich,"  for 
which  word  all  manner  of  meanings  have  been  found, 
including  "  cruinn-ich,"  Bound-ites.  Some  Irish  writers 
hold  that  the  Picts  migrated  from  Ireland  to  Scotland 
before  the  Scots. 

There  is  also  good  reason  for  the  continual  refer- 
ence to  the  island  with  fire  about  it,  and  the  Scandi- 
navians, for  the  churchmen  of  Iona  or  men  of  their  class 
visited  and  settled  in  Iceland  before  the  Norsemen. 

First  recorded  hostile  appearance  of  the  Danes  in 
England. 

Ingolf,  first  Norse  settler,  set  out  for  Iceland. 

Harold  Fairhair,  king  of  Norway,  rooted  out  the 
Vikings  in  the  west,  and  drove  a  rush  of  settlers  to 
Iceland.  In  the  Norse  accounts  of  these  events,  a 
story  is  told  of  a  sea-rover  who  found  his  way  to 
Iceland  by  letting  ravens  fly  from  his  ship.  I  have  a 
long  Gaelic  story  in  which  a  man  finds  his  way  over 
the  sea  in  pursuit  of  a  mysterious  lady,  by  the  help  of 
three  ravens,  two  of  which  he  kills  and  tortures 
because  they  will  not  fly,  but  the  third  to  save  his  life 
flies,  and  shews  the  way.  Ossianic  names  occur  in 
this  tale. 

A  manuscript,  supposed  (for  reasons  given  in  the 
Appendix  to  the  Report  of  the  Highland  Society  on 
the  poems  of  Ossian)  to  be  of  the  eighth  century,  is 
believed  to  be  somewhere  in  Edinburgh  It  contains  a 
version  of  "  The  Tain" — a  poem  relative  to  which  the 
Ossianic  Society  of  Dublin  have  lately  published  a 
volume  of  very  curious  matter,  and  which  is  also  men- 
tioned by  Professor  O'Curry.      Whatever  may  be  the 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  4 1 

real  date  of  this  ancient  MS.,  it  throws  the  date  of  Osin, 
or  Ossin,  or  Ossian,  and  Finn,  and  of  incidents  in  sur- 
viving traditions,  both  prose  and  poetry,  very  far  back; 
but,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  it  does  not  contain  any  of 
the  Gaelic  poems  published  in  1807.*  So  we  may 
pass  on. 

An  ancient  Gaelic  MS.  has  been  lately  discovered  gootoioot 
in  England.  I  am  not  aware  that  it  is  yet  decided 
whether  the  language  is  most  like  Irish  or  Scotch 
Gaelic ;  but  it  is  Gaelic,  and  contains,  as  it  is  said,  a 
charter  of  lands  near  Aberdeen,  and  it  was  probably 
meant  to  be  read  by  people  who  lived  where  it  was 
written.  I  mention  it  as  evidence  that  Gaelic  was 
written  in  the  east  of  Scotland  in  the  tenth  century. 

The  following  sentence  appears  in  the  Saturday 
Eeview  of  December  8,  1860,  as  Gaelic  taken  from 
this  MS.  :— 

FORCHUBUS  CAICHDUINI  IMBIA  ARRATH  INLEBRAN 
COLLI  ARATARDDA  BENDACHT  FORANMAIN  INTRUAGAIN 
BODSCRIBAI. 

The  translation  given  is — 

Be  it  on  the  conscience  of  every  one  in  whom  shall  be 
the  grace  of  the  booklet  with  splendour  that  he  gave  a 
blessing  on  the  soul  of  the  misellus  who  wrote  it. 

In  this  form  I  can  make  nothing  whatever  of  the 
Gaelic,  and  not  much  of  the  English.     There  is  not  one 

*  Report  of  the  Highland  Society,  p.  293.  This  MS.  is 
now  missing  from  the  Advocates'  Library,  where  the  collection 
of  the  Highland  Society  was  deposited. 


42 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WHITINGS,  ETGl 


word,  except  bendacht,  which  even  looks  like  modern 
Gaelic;  hut  the  following  sentence  conveys  as  little 
meaning  at  first — 

Tamy  ouro  bed  Ienthum  bleskr  vantto  comnd. 

The  Gaelic,  otherwise  divided,  looks  better;  the 
reader  may  puzzle  out  the  other  language  for  himself. 
Taking  this  to  be  phonetic  spelling,  it  is  not  unlike 
modern  Gaelic  with  one  Latinised  word,  and  would 
seem  to  be  a  formal  gift  of  a  wood  on  a  hilltop,  and  a 
blessing  on  somebody  mentioned  before. 


Forcubus 
Forchnbus 
To  the  Forchi 


arrath  in 

air  rath  an 

said  the 


at 

ait 

the  place 

in 
an 
of  the 


ard 
ard 
high 


caich 
gach 
to  every 

le 

leth 

half 

da 

dhaibh 
to  them 


duini 
duine 
man 

bran 

braigh'n 

of  the  top  of  the 


imbi  a 

am  bith  e 

to  whom  it  may  be 


colli 

coille 

wood 


ar 

air 

on 


bendacht 
beannachd 
a  blessing 


for 
for 
on  the 


truagain 

truaghain 

poor  little  fellow 


rod 

romh 

before 


anmam 
anamain 
the  little  soul 

scribai 

sgriobhte 

written. 


"  To  the  Forchi  (?  the  Farquhars).  To  every  man 
to  whom  it  may  be  said.  The  half  of  the  wood  on  the 
high  place  to  them.  A  blessing  on  the  little  soul  of 
the  poor  little  fellow  before  written." 

It  is  difficult  to  know  where  a  word  begins  or  ends 
in  old  writings,  and  perhaps  this  arrangement  of  the 
letters  may  be  as  good  as  the  other.  I  know  nothing 
further  of  this  manuscript,  and  very  little  of  old  manu- 
scripts of  any  kind,  so  this  is  a  mere  guess  at  a  puzzle. 
looo  to  1100.  Book  of  Leinster  compiled,  it  contains  numerous 
references  to  poems,  tales,  the  Feine,  etc. 
ioi4.  Brian's  battle  with  the  Norsemen  was  fought  in 


0S6IAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  43 

Ireland.  A  description  of  this  fight  is  given  in  the 
Njal  Saga,  and  though  it  is  interlarded  with  super- 
natural portents,  it  is  an  account  written  not  very  long 
after  the  event,  and  is  probably  very  true  in  the  main. 
Having  lately  visited  the  scene  of  the  Njal  Saga  in 
Iceland,  I  have  become  impressed  with  the  extraordi- 
nary truthfulness  of  every  part  of  the  story,  which  can 
now  be  tested.  If  a  spot  is  described,  the  people  who 
live  there  now  will  point  it  out,  and  the  narrative 
there  appears  probable,  for  it  accords  with  the  locality. 
It  is  told  that  Gunnar  stood  on  a  height,  and  thence 
shot  a  number  of  men  with  arrows,  and  the  nearest 
peasant  mounted  the  only  block  of  lava  in  the  place 
that  seemed  to  suit  the  description,  and  posed  as 
Gunnar.  Close  to  the  spot,  he  pointed  out  a  number 
of  human  bones,  skulls,  and  teeth,  which  had  been 
laid  bare  by  a  strong  wind  which  had  lately  driven 
the  black  sand  away  from  a  small  rising  ground.  Un- 
less  these  were  the  bones  of  the  men  slain  there  by 
Gunnar,  eight  hundred  years  ago,  it  is  not  easy  to 
make  out  how  they  came  there,  amongst  the  bare  lava 
and  sand  near  "  the  springs."  They  bear  every  mark 
of  great  age,  there  is  no  burying  ground  near,  and  it 
was  no  one's  interest  to  play  a  trick  upon  travellers. 
Though  I  cannot  believe  that  Odin  appeared  at  Brian's 
battle,  or  his  corse-choosers  before  it,  or  that  ravens, 
and  swords,  and  showers  of  blood,  fell  upon  and 
attacked  the  pagan  Norseman,  I  can  readily  believe 
that  such  stories  were  told,  and  believed,  and  written 
down  in  Iceland  as  true,  and  that  the  smaller  incidents 
of  Brian's  battle  were  truly  recorded  nevertheless.     It 


44  OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

appears  that  king  Brians  army  had  banners,  and  in  a 
traditional  Gaelic  ballad,  at  least  as  old  as  1784,  and 
now  current,  is  a  description  of  the  banners  of  the 
Feinne.  The  Celts  had  swords,  and  spears,  and 
shields,  and  mail,  like  the  traditional  Feinne.  Kerthial- 
fad  is  mentioned  as  a  leader  of  the  Celtic  army,  and  in 
the  song  of  the  Muilearteach,  page  128,  vol.  iii.,  occurs 
the  name  Cearbhal  as  a  leader  in  some  great  battle 
between  Celts  and  Lochlanners,  in  which  the  Celts  won, 
and  where  they  displayed  banners,  one  of  which  was 
the  banner  of  Fionn,  which  is  described  in  another 
poem.  They  used  spears,  and  shields,  and  swords,  and 
elsewhere  it  appears  that  they  wore  maiL  A  magic 
raven  was  the  standard  on  the  Norse  side,  and  according 
to  the  Saga,  ravens  attacked  Brodir's  men;  a  raven 
plays  his  part  in  the  Lay  of  Osgar.  One  of  the  Saga 
heroes,  on  the  Celtic  side,  was  Ospak;  one  of  the 
traditional  heroes  was  Osgar,  and  they  performed 
similar  feats.  "Ospak  had  gone  through  all  the 
battle  on  his  wing,  he  had  been  sore  wounded,  and 
lost  both  his  sons,  before  king  Sigtrygg  fled  before 
him."  Osgar,  according  to  the  Gaelic  poem,  broke 
his  way  through  the  battle  to  the  king  of  Lochlann, 
whose  name  is  not  given,  and  slew  him,  and  an  Orkney 
Earl  was  really  slain,  if  the  king  was  not.  Osgar,  like 
Ospak,  was  sore  wounded,  if  sickles  or  herons  could  go 
through  his  waist  after  the  battle.  "  Ospak  was  a 
heathen  Viking,"  but  he  would  not  fight  against  the 
good  Celtic  king  Brian.  Osgar  was  a  heathen  Celt,  and 
according  to  part  of  his  traditional  history,  he  went  to 
Lochlann  as  a  boy,  carried  there  by  a  scaly  monster, 


0SSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  45 

who  ate  men,  and  came  in  a  ship ;  a  Viking  might 
be  remembered  as  such  a  being.  If  the  man  on  the 
apple  gray  horse  be  meant  for  Odin  by  the  Norse  Saga 
writer,  it  is  quite  fair  that  a  Celtic  bard  should  bring 
down  his  Olympus,  and  Fionn  at  the  head,  and  so  this 
lay  of  the  Muilearteach  may  mean  Brian's  battle,  and 
be  a  tolerably  true  ballad  account  of  that  fight.  It 
may  also  mean  something  much  older,  or  more  modern, 
but  points  of  resemblance  between  a  saga  and  a  ballad 
are  worth  remark.  Miss  Brooke,  in  1789,  attributed 
the  Lay  of  Magnus  to  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century, 
and  assumed  that  the  Norse  invader  meant,  was  the 
Magnus  who  worked  so  much  ill  in  Ireland  about  the 
latter  end  of  the  eleventh  century.  This  tells  for  the 
antiquity  of  traditional  Gaelic  poetry,  and  for  the  ground- 
work of  "  FingaV'  but  not  for  the  Gaelic  of  1807. 

In  a  charter  of  lands  in  Morayshire,  the  words  1220. 
"Tubar  na  fein"  occur.  This  is  explained  to  mean 
"  The  well  of  the  great  or  kempis  men,"  which  proves 
that  the  name  of  the  Feinne  was  even  then  associated 
with  the  topography  of  the  eastern  Highlands. — (Celtic 
Gleanings,  MacLauchlan,  125.) 

A  MS.  in  the  Advocates'  Library  contains,  amongst  123& 
other  things,  a  version  of  the  poem  on  which  "  Dar- 
thula"  is  founded.  The  character  is  "Irish;"  but  it 
seems,  from  internal  evidence,  to  have  been  written  in 
Cowal.  Several  traditional  versions  of  a  poem  on  the 
same  subject  have  been  collected  in  Scotland  and 
printed.  The  story  is  claimed  as  Irish,  and  this  pro- 
bably was  a  popular  Gaelic  ballad  long  ago.  This 
throws  the  framework  of  one  of  the  published  poems 


46  0SS1AN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

very  far  back,  but  does  not  affect  the  Gaelic  of  1807, 
for  "  Darthula,"  as  published,  is  not  there ;  but  Deir- 
dir  sings  a  plaintive  ditty  in  a  language  which  is  not 
very  different  from  modern  Argyleshire  Gaelic,  though 
differently  spelt*  in  which  she  takes  her  leave  of  "  that 
Eastern  land,  Alba,  with  all  its  lakes,"  and  names  a 
whole  series  of  places  which  correspond  to  places  in 
Argyleshire  about  Lochawe,  Cowal,  Glencoe,  etc.  A 
specimen  of  the  poem  is  at  pages  298,  299,  Appendix 
to  H.  S.  Eeport.  So  the  groundwork  of  Darthula  is 
common  property,  and  genuine  and  old,  for  Professor 
0' Curry  finds  mention  of  the  tale  of  the  children  of 
Usnech  in  early  Irish  manuscripts  (1319),  and  believes 
it  to  be  as  old  as  a.d.  1000  ;  but  the  poem  of  Dar- 
thula must  be  carried  further  on. 
1250.  About  this  time  the  halls  of  barons,  and  even  the 

courts  of  princes,  were  frequented  by  wandering  min- 
strels, and  in  the  romances  of  the  period  they  are  con- 
stantly mentioned. 

The  Northmen  were  accompanied  by  their  skalds 
in  their  warlike  expeditions,  and  the  accounts  which 
these  men  wrote  were  in  verse  and  prose.  The  verse 
is  quite  different  in  spirit  and  metre  from  Gaelic  verse ; 
but  "  sgeulachd,"  pr.  skale-ach  (tales),  are  often  partly 
verse  stilL 

In  the  history  of  the  Norwegian  expedition  against 
Scotland,  a.  d.  1263,*  is  an  account  of  the  expedition 
of  Haco,  represented  as  the  most  formidable  that  ever 

*  Translated  1780  from  the  Icelandic  by  the  Rev.   James 
Johnson,,  chaplain  to  the  embassy  at  Copenhagen. 


OSEIAN — TBADITIOHB,  WETTINGS,  ETC. 


47 


left  the  ports  of  Norway.  The  prise  disputed  with 
Alexander,  eon  of  William,  king  of  Scotland,  was  the 
possession  of  the  Hebrides. 

In  the  manuscript^  "s  described  by  the  translator,  are 
pictures,  some  of  which  represent  a  man  killing  a  boar, 
and  another  fighting  with  a  mermaid,  both  of  which 
subjects  form  the  groundwork  of  stories  now  told  in 
the  Highlands.  Most  of  the  figures  are  in  armour. 
Their  helmets  are  sometimes  conical ;  so  are  the  helmets 
sculptured   on   many    of  the   Hebridian   tombstones. 


The  whole  course  of  the  expedition  is  minutely  de- 
scribed. They  sailed  as  far  south  as  Loch  Long,  drew 
their  boats  over  the  isthmus  now  called  Tarbert  or 


48  08SIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

draw-boat^  harried  the  islands  in  Loch  Lomond,  and 
fought  a  great  battle  with  the  Scotch  near  the  Kunirey 
(Cumbraes),  after  which  Haco  sailed  by  Botar ;  (Bute, 
Gaelic,  Bòt) ;  Hersey  (Arran  Ar  fhinn,  Fionn's  land, 
according  to  some),  Sa-tir-is-mula  (the  Mull  of  Kintyre, 
maol-chean-tire,  bluff  of  Land's  end) ;  Gudey  (Gigha 
Giugha) ;  II  (Islay,  He),  where  he  levied  a  contribu- 
tion of  cattle,  meal,  and  cheese ;  Myl  (Mull,  Mul-e) ; 
Rauney  (Rona,  Bona,  seal  isle) ;  Skidi  (Skye,  Eilan 
sgiathnach,  the  winged  island),  and  thence  by  Harf 
(Cape  Wrath),  to  Orkney,  where  the  king  sickened  and 
died. 

In  this  early  account  by  an  eye  witness  of  a 
Norwegian  expedition,  mention  is  made  of  "  Kiarnakr 
son  makamals,"  a  Scot  who  harried  the  Isle  of  Skye, 
and  whose  men  "  had  even  taken  small  children,  and 
raising  them  on  the  points  of  their  spears,  shook  them 
till  they  fell  down  to  their  hands,"  and  in  the  story 
abstracted,  voL  iii,  p.  184,  and  got  in  Islay,  Fionn  Mac- 
Chumhail  goes  from  Islay  to  Skye  to  fight  the  Scandi- 
navians. There  is  no  mention  of  burnings  and  murders, 
but  as  such  proceedings  were  then  common  amongst 
Vikings,  according  to  Norwegian  accounts,  probably 
both  sides  were  equally  cruel  The  translator  suggests  in 
a  note,  that  as  Makamal  is  elsewhere  written  Machamal, 
it  may  be  a  mistake  for  "  Mai  Carnal,"  a  lord  of  Lochaw. 
The  name  was  probably  written  from  ear,  and  the  name 
of  the  lords  of  Lochawe  is  not  pronounced  Kamal  now- 
a-days  in  Gaelic.  It  seems  possible  that  the  name  may 
be  Ceathearnach  (warrior),  Mac  (son  of)  Cumhail ;  but  it 
might  be  a  corruption  of  several  other  Gaelic  names,  as 


OSSIÀN TRADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC.  49 

now  pronounced,  including  the  big  Macaulay,  of  whose 
deeds  there  are  so  many  traditions  current  in  the  Long 
Islands.     Be  that  as  it  may,  petty  rulers  throughout 
these  islands  were  then  styled  kings,  as  they  are  in 
Gaelic  stories.     Ships  were  generally  small  enough  to 
be  drawn  overland,  as  described  in  Barbour's  Bruce, 
and   in  traditions;  and  there  are  many   other  traits 
which  appear  in  popular  tales  still  repeated  in  the 
places  mentioned.     This  seems  to  give  a  vague  reference 
to  something  like  an  Ossianic  name.     I  have  several 
Gaelic  stories  which   clearly  describe  a  Scandinavian 
descent  upon  the  country  about  the  Clyde,  in  which 
Fionn  is  made  to  play  a  part     So  this  tells  for  the 
antiquity  of  these  traditions  ;  and  shews  how  old  re- 
cords may  have  been  destroyed,  for  there  were  religious 
houses  on  the  islands  in  Loch  Lomond. 

Bannockburn  was  fought.     According  to  Barbour   1314. 
the  west  Highlanders  were  there  in  force. 

The  ferd  battale  the  nobill  king 
Tuk  till  himself  in  governing, 
And  had  intill  his  company 
The  men  of  Argile  and  of  Kintyr 
And  of  Carrik  all  halely 
And  of  the  His  quharof  was  Syr 
Angus  of  He  and  But  all  tha ; 
He  of  the  plane  land  had  alsua 
Of  armit  men  ane  mekill  rout 
His  battale  stalwart  was  and  stout. 

It  is  strange  to  trace  an  ante-celtic  feeling  in  the 
bard  who  wrote  this  passage,  and  it  is  equally  strange 
vol.  rv.  e 


50  OSSIAN TRADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC. 

to  find  so  little  about  Bruce  in  Highland  tradition 
now. 
1375.  Barbour,  Archdeacon   of  Aberdeen  compiled  his 

poem  of  u  the  Brus."  The  manuscript  in  the  Advo- 
cates' Library  contains  the  words,  "  hym  all."  Hart's 
edition,  printed  1616,  has  "  FingaL"  Jamieson's, 
1820,  has  uhym  all,"  and  the  edition  of  the  Spalding 
Club,  published  from  a  collation  of  "  the  Cambridge 
and  Edinburgh  MS&,"  follows  Hart. 

"The  Lord  of  Lorne,"  enraged  at  his  men  who 
durst  not  follow  the  "  Brus,"  sets  them  an  "  ensampill," 

He  said  methink  Marthokis  sone, 
Bicht  as  Golmakmorn  was  wone 
To  haf  fra  Fingal  his  menyhe, 
Bicht  sa  all  his  fra  us  has  he. 

The  lowland  poet  here  remarks  that  he  might  "  mar 
manerlik"  have  "liknit"  him  to  Gaudifer  de  Larys, 
and  narrates  an  exploit  performed  by  that  hero  of 
romance,  which  he  knew,  and  thought  a  better  illustra- 
tion of  Bruce's  valour ;  so  he  probably  gave  the  words 
of  the  Lord  of  Lorne  as  he  had  heard  them,  honestly, 
though  he  did  not  see  their  force.  The  passage  refers 
to  the  strife  which,  according  to  tradition,  was  con- 
stantly going  on  between  Goll  Macmorna  and  Fionn  ; 
and  the  Lord  of  Lorne  (MacCowl)  spoke  according  to 
his  lights,  to  men  who  understood  what  he  meant 
Irish  history  claims  a  real  existence  for  Fionn  and  Goll, 
and  modern  lowland  stories  have  added  supernatural 
incidents  to  the  real  history  of  the  Bruce  and  Wallace. 

With  respect  to  the  various  readings ;  "  hym  all " 


0SSIAN TRADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC.  5  I 

makes  no  sense,  Fingal  does  not  accord  with  tradition, 
but  fynn  all  would  remove  all  difficulties,  and  mayhap 
the  scribe  wrote  hym  for  fynn,  not  knowing  what  was 
meant.  Spelling  and  writing  were  not  fettered  by 
rules  in  the  olden  time,  and  the  letter  y  might  well 
express  the  existing  vowel  sound  of  Fionn 

MacDougald  of  Dunolly  (Maccowle  as  anciently 
written)  now  owns  a  brooch  which  was  won  in  fight 
with  the  Bruce  in  Lome,  near  Morven,  the  supposed 
kingdom  of  Fingal  It  is  clear  that  Barbour  then 
expected  lowland  readers  to  understand  this  allusion  to 
two  Ossianic  heroes. — (Highland  Society's  Report^  p.  21. 
Hist  of  Scotch  Poetry,  275.     Barbour's  Brus.) 

The  Book  of  Ballymote,  above  referred  to,  was  1891 
written,  and  contains  something  relative  to  the  heroes 
alluded  to  by  Barbour.  So  they  were  widely  known 
about  the  time  of  Bannockburn,  1314,  and  the  history 
of  Bruce  shews  that  he  at  least  courted  the  aid  of  the 
men  of  the  west,  who  "  were  stalwart  and  stout." 

A  charter  of  lands  in  Islay  was  written  in  the  1408 
usual  form  of  Latin  charters,  but  in  the  Gaelic  lan- 
guage and  character,  by  Fergus  Beaton,  generally  called 
the  Mull  Doctor.  This  proves  that  the  Gaelic  character 
and  language  were  then  used  in  legal  documents  in 
Scotland. — (Celtic  Gleanings,  76.)  This  manuscript 
disproves  the  Irish  claim  to  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
old  character,  and  refutes  the  assertion  that  Gaelic  was 
not  a  written  language.  It  might  as  well  be  argued 
that  English  was  unwritten  because  the  Times  •  does 
not  use  Chaucer's  language  and  black  letter. 

The  Book  of  Leacain,  above  referred  to,  was  written.    1416 


52  OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC. 

1432.  Sir  Colin  of  Glenurchy,  ancestor  of  the  BreadaTbane 

family,  got  a  charter  from  his  father,  and  set  up  for 
himself  About  this  time  the  name  Maccowle  was 
applied  to  MacDougald  in  Lome.  It  is  pronounced 
Macgooil  now.  This  Colin  is  styled  Black  Colin  of 
Eome.  It  is  said  that  he  was  a  knight  of  Ehodes,  and 
that  he  was  three  sundry  times  at  Eome.* 

Here  then  is  a  foundation  for  some  passages  in 
the  tale  of  Conall  Gulban,  got  in  CowalL  Highland 
worthies  went  to  the  East  and  fought  the  Paynim. 
Amongst  the  movables  at  Taymouth,  and  the  jewels 
of  the  house,  mention  is  made  "  of  ane  stone  of  the 
quantitye  of  half  a  hen's  eg  set  in  silver,  being  flatte  at 
the  ane  end  and  round  at  the  other  end  lyke  a  peir, 
whilk  Sir  Coline  Campbell,  first  laird  of  Glenurchy, 
woir  when  he  fought  in  battle  at  the  Ehodes  against 
the  Turks,  he  being  one  of  the  knychtis  of  Ehodes." 
This  amulet  appears  to  have  been  subsequently  used  as 
a  charm  for  more  homely  purposes,  and  one  like  its 
description  is  still  at  Taymouth.  t  I  have  seen  many 
such  amulets  in  the  Highlands,  and  they  are  still  used 
as  charms, — so  here  is  foundation  for  the  amulet  in 
Conall  Gulban. 

1438.  Printing  invented  by  Koster. 

1442.  Guttenburg. 

1460.  Guttenburg's  bible  completed. 

1450.  About  this  time  Blind  Harry  composed  "  Wallace ;" 

William  Dunbar  was  born ;  and  wandering  minstrels 

*  Sketches  of  Early  Scotch  History,  p.  343.    Black  Book  of 
Taymouth. 

+  Sketches  of  Early  Scotch  History,  p.  344. 


0SSIAN-— TRADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC.  53 

fell  into  disrepute  in  lowland  Scotland  and  elsewhere. 
It  seems  that  there  were  Celtic  hards  then  wandering 
about  as  well  as  the  lowland  minstrels,  who  were  all 
classed  with  sturdy  beggars  by  an  Act  of  1457. 

Holland,  in  a  stanza  (quoted  page  181,  Hist,  of 
Scotch  Poetry),  abuses  a  bard  out  of  Ireland,  and 
mimics  his  language.  It  is  bad  Gaelic,  written  by  ear 
by  one  who  did  not  understand  more  than  its  general 
meaning.  "  Banachadee  "  is  clearly  Beannachadh  Dia, 
God's  blessing,  which  is  a  common  Highland  salutation 
on  entering  a  house ;  and  equivalent  to  the  Irish  saluta- 
tion "  God  save  all  here."  Other  two  lines  mean — 
Said  Black  Knee  give  us  a  drink — come,  me  drink. 
Son  of  Mary's  son,  ach!  great  son!  me  dry  lake. 
The  last  lines  quoted  are — 

O'Deremyne,  O'Donall,  O'Dochardy  droch, 
Thir  are  his  Ireland  kingis  of  the  Irischerye  ; 
O'Krewlyn,  O'Conocher,  O'Gregre,  Makgrane, 
The  Schenachy,  the  Clarschach, 
The  Benschene,  the  ballach, 
The  Crekery,  the  Corach, 
Scho  kennis  them  ilk  ane. 

This  is  a  list  of  names  and  certain  words,  which 
mean,  "  The  reciter  of  old  tales ;"  "The  singing  woman" 
(or  the  fairy  woman) ;  "  The  boy ;"  "  The  spoiling ;" 
"  The  battle  ;"  and  these  I  take  to  be  a  list  of  current 
songs  or  poems  which  such  hungry,  thirsting,  black- 
kneed,  and  therefore  barelegged  wandering  minstrels 
recited,  together  with  the  genealogies  of  kings  and 
nobles.     So  here  is  a  glimpse  of  Celtic  dress  and  poetry, 


54  0SS1AN TRADITIONS,    WETTINGS,    ETC. 

and  it  confirms  the  accounts  given  of  bardic  recita- 
tions. 

William  Dunbar,  who  flourished  in  the  reign  of 
James  the  Fourth,  and  was  a  churchman  who  satirized 
the  church  in  the  "Interlude  of  the  Droichis"  (Ever- 
green, p.  259),  says — 

My  fair  grandsyr  hecht  Fyn  Makowll, 
That  dang  the  diel  and  gart  him  yowll. 

My  fader  meikle  Gow  Mac  Macmorn, 
Out  of  his  moderis  wame  was  shorne. 

And  hence  it  is  evident  that  tales  about  the  Feinne 
were  then  commonly  known  to  those  for  whom  the 
poet  composed,  that  is  to  say,  the  lowlanders  of  Scot- 
land. 

In  one  of  his  satires,  "  The  Daunce,"  Dunbar  in- 
troduced the  seven  deadly  sins  performing  a  mummery 
in  the  dress  of  the  period,  before  Mahoun  and  his 
infernal  court,  together  with  troops  of  those  at  whom 
the  satires  were  aimed — nuns,  loose  livers,  and  above 
all,  shaven  priests,  and  celts. 

The  fiend  of  the  Lowland  bard  concludes  his  enter- 
tainment thus  : — 

"  Than  cry'd  Mahoun  for  a  Heleand  padyane, 
Syn  ran  a  feynd  to  fetch  Makfadyane, 

Far  northwart  in  a  nuke  : 
Be  he  the  correnoch  had  done  schout, 
Erische  men  so  gadderit  him  about, 

In  hell  grit  rume  they  tuke  ; 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC.  55 

Thae  tarmegantis  with  tag  and  tatter, 
Full  loud  in  Ersche  begouth  to  clatter, 

And  roup  lyk  revin  and  ruke, 
The  devill  sa  devit  was  with  thair  yell, 
That  in  the  deepest  pit  of  hell, 

He  smorit  them  with  smuke." 

From  this  curious  composition  a  great  deal  is  to  be 
learned  about  the  manners  and  customs  of  these  rough 
times,  and  we  get  another  distant  glimpse  of  Highland 
ways  long  ago.  There  was  a  fierce  war  of  words 
between  Highland  and  Lowland  nationalities  then,  as 
there  was  between  Celt  and  Saxon  in  the  days  of 
MacPherson,  Johnson,  and  Bos  well,  and  as  there  is  in 
our  own  day  when  Bon  Gaultier  writes  his  famous 
Celtic  ballad — 

"  Fhairshon  swore  a  feud 
Against  the  clan  MacTavish." 

It  also  appears  that  lowland  bards,  then  as  now,  did 
not  know  much  about  the  Gaelic  language,  and  made 
no  distinction  between  Irish  and  Erische ;  but  they 
knew  the  customs  of  the  race.  MakPadyane  shouted  a 
lament  for  the  dead,  so  that  was  a  u  Highland  pageant," 
and  all  the  Ersche  gathered  about  him  and  began  to 
"  clatter,"  so  the  custom  of  crying  the  coronach,  like 
that  of  keening  *in  Ireland,  was  a  Highland  custom 
in  the  fifteenth  century.  This  custom  is  clearly 
referred  to  in  the  traditional  poem  on  the  death  of 
Osgur,  and  funeral  processions  are  still  followed  by 
the  bagpipes,  and  martial  music  accompanies  a  soldier 
to  his  last  home.     It  also  appears  that  these  "  Ersche" 


S6  0SSI4N — TRADITIONS,    WKITINOS,    ETC. 

were  a  fierce  race  of  termagants,  dressed  in  "  tag  and 
tatter,"  some  fluttering  outlandish  costume,  wholly  diffe- 
rent from  the  fine  lowland  honnet  and  flowing  gown 
of  "  Pride,"  who  leads  the  procession  in  the  infernal 
mummery  which  Dunbar  imagined  and  described. 
From  the  former  quotation  it  appeared  that  they  were 
bare-kneed  "  black-knees,"  and  it  seems  that  the  poet 
hated  the  whole  race  and  their  language,  and  satirized 
them,  with  other  objects  of  his  aversion,  with  all  his 
might. 

It  may  be  new  to  most  English  readers  to  learn, 
that  MacMhurich,  Clanranald's  bard,  long  afterwards 
composed  a  Gaelic  satire  on  national  music.  In  this, 
the  "  coronach  of  women"  (no  longer  that  of  men,  be 
it  observed),  and  "Pioh  gleadhair,"  the  pipe  of  clamour, 


Highland  sculptors  also  made  stone  satires  upon  the  pipes.  Above  the 
door  of'Dundarav,"  a  rained  castle  near  Inverary,  there  used  to  be  r  figure 
playing  a  tune  npon  his  nose,  which  suggested  &e  above  design  of  the 
Spirit  of  the  Pipes.    Lowland  view. 

are  called  the  two  ear  sweethearts  of  the  black  fiend — 
a  noise  fit  to  arouse  the  imps  ;  and  other  epithets  are 
used  fully  as  bitter  and  coarse  as  anything  in  Dunbar's 
"  Daunce." 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,    WETTINGS,    ETC. 


belted  plaid. 


Dancing  to  pipe  music  is  a  Scotch  custom  at  leaat  as 
old  as  the  days  of  James  the  Fourth.  It  is  a  custom  which 
still  prevails  in  Italy,  Spain,  Ireland,  and  Scotland 

Dunbar  in  his  Testament  of  Kennedy  throws  some 
light  upon  the  manners  and  customs  of  Carrick,  a  Celtic 
district  of  Ayrshire.  He  makes  a  brother  churchman, 
with  whom  he  held  poetic  jousts,  desire  that  no  priests 
may  sing  oyer  his  grave, 

"  Bot  a  bag-pyp  to  play  a  spring, 
Et  unirm  alewisp  ante  me ; 
Insteid  of  torchis,  for  to  bring 
Quatuor  lagenas  cervisiaj, 


58 


OSSIAN TBADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC. 


Within  the  graif  to  aet  sic  thing, 

In  modum  cruris  juxta  me, 
To  fle  the  feyndis  than  hardely  sing 
l)e  terra  plasmaati  me." 
So  the  poet  knew  the  sound  of  the  bag-pyp,  and 
thought  it  an  instrument  fit  to  fle  the  feyndis,  as  many 
Icelanders  do  still,  but  it  was  the  music  which  a  beer- 
drinking  churchman  would  delight  to  hear  "  playing  a 
spring." 

It  seems  that  beer,  not  whisky,  was  old  Scotch  drink. 


rat* 

Drt 

«m  about  the 

(LIFLiH    Of 

Henry  Till. 

1.1,'a  [!„ 

ie  bagpipes  were  k 

tkh.ji   in 

the  south. 

Death 

ire  printed,  Is 

ien 

'  who  has  the 

sort  ot  kilt.     Hkor.li,- 

■olio 

thing  liki 

a  dreaa. 

ML 

In  tie  garden 

of  Eden 

he  la  naked. 

OSSIAN TRADITIONS,    WRITING8,   ETC.  59 

Caxton's  press  set  up  at  Westminster.  1471- 

First  book  printed  in  England  1474 

About  this  time,  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 

century,  Gavin  Douglas,  bishop  of  Dunkeld,  inscribed 

a  poem  to  'James  the  Fourth,  and  wrote — 


n 


I  saw  Kaf  Coilyear  with  his  thrawin  brow, 
Craibit  Johne  the  Keif  and  auld  Cowkellpis  sow, 

And  how  the  wran  came  out  of  Ailysay, 
And  Peirs  Plewman  that  maid  his  workmen  few, 
Greit  Gowmacmorne  and  Fyn  MaCoul,  and  how 

They  suld  be  goddis  in  Ireland  as  they  say. 

Thair  saw  I  Maitland  upon  auld  Beird  Gray, 
Eobene  Hude  and  Gilbert  with  the  quhite  hand, 
How  Hay  of  Nauchtan  flew  in  Madin  land." 


The  verse  is  quoted  in  the  Keport  on  Ossian,  and 
p.  170,  Hist,  of  Scottish  Poetry.  It  is  part  of  "  the 
Palis  of  Honour, "  an  allegorical  composition,  in  which 
the  poet  introduces  every  famous  personage  of  ancient 
or  modern  times,  sacred  or  profane,  of  whom  he  knew 
anything ;  all  the  classical  poets — Brutus  of  Albyon, 
Friar  Bacon,  Chaucer,  and  a  mob  of  poets  and  their 
heroes.  So  here  are  two  of  the  heroes  of  Ossian  in 
good  company  at  this  court  of  honour,  but  even  then 
their  history  was  known  to  the  author  only  by  hearsay. 

There  is  consequently  a  good  deal  to  be  found 
about  Fionn  in  old  times  in  the  Lowlands,  but  nothing, 
so  far,  of  the  poems  which  are  referred  to.  It  so  hap- 
pens that  some  older  than  that  period  have  been  pre- 
served.    While  polished  bards,  Highland  and  Lowland, 


1501. 


6o  OSSIAN TRADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC. 

were  exercising  their  wit  on  sueh  compositions  as  are 
found  in  old  manuscripts,  the  "savage"  Celtic  people 
were  repeating  their  own  old  ballads,  and  these  were 
simple  and  free  from  the  smallest  tinge  of  coarseness. 
So  far  as  I  know  anything  of  old  Gaelic  poetry,  there 
is  nothing  to  be  likened  to  the  satires  above  referred  to. 
ibzj.  Bishop  Percy,  speaking  of  an  Earl  of  Northumber- 

land who  died  about  this  time,  observes  that  he  lived 
at  a  time  when  many  of  the  first  nobility  could  hardly 
read  or  write  their  names, 
1512  to  1529.  jjean  MacGregor'a  MS.  was  written  at  Lismore  in 
Argyllshire.*  It  is  not  written  in  the  Gaelic  character 
and  it  seems  to  have  been  spelt  by  ear  for  the  benefit 
of  English  or  Scotch  readers.  Amongst  other  mat- 
ters it  contains  11,000  lines  of  poetry,  some  attributed 
to  Olsein  and  his  comrades,  some  to  bards  of  the  period, 
including  Sir  Duncan  Campbell  of  Glenorchy,  who 
fell  at  Flodden,  1513,  and  Lady  Iaobel  Campbell, 
daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Argyll,  "  8th  MacCallen  Mor  :" 
she  was  sister  to  Lady  MacLean.  Fart  of  this  manu- 
script has  been  deciphered  and  translated,  and  is  in 
coarse  of  publication,  and  the  editors  will  describe  it. 
It  probably  is  a  collection  written  from  dictation,  and 
gives,  according  to  the  writer's  ability,  a  faithful  repre- 
sentation of  the  current  language  and  iiai.litinual  poems 
of  the  district  of  Lorno  in  the  sixteenth  century.  I  have 
seen  a  few  sheets  of  this  publication,  and  these  prove 
■.i  ■    ...    ■■  .,,...         .  ,,r  Scoilm.il, 

1  Gregory.  E«<],  and 
Iglilaod  Sucieij' 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC.  6l 

"beyond  question  that  the  groundwork  of  the  first  book 
of  Temora  had  been  made  the  subject  of  a  Gaelic 
poem,  which  was  written  down  more  than  three  centuries 
ago,  but  the  poem  of  1807  is  not  there.     This  manu- 
script, then,  disposes  of  a  great  deal  of  the  Ossianic 
controversy,  and  clears  the  ground.      A  great  many 
of  the  incidents  in  Temora,  even  minute  details,  are 
given  in  a  poem  attributed  to  Allan    MacRoyre,  in 
1530,  and  some  of  the  same  incidents  are  in  the  Irish 
poem  attributed  to  Oisin  in  the  twelfth  century;  but 
Temora  is  attributed  to  Ossian  who  lived  in  the  third  ; 
some  twelve  hundred  years  before  Dean  MacGregor 
wrote ;  and  it  seems  highly  improbable  that  a  long  and 
well-known  traditional  poem  should  have  escaped  the 
Dean's  notice,  while  a  short  one  on  the  same  subject 
was  written  down.       Lome  is  close  to  Morven,  but 
there  is  no  mention  of  Yingal  or  his  kingdom.     It  is 
thus  proved  that  Fionn  and  his  heroes  are  not  simply 
creatures  of  MacPherson's  brain,  or  worthies  who  be- 
long exclusively  to  Irish  romance  ;  and  it  seems  pro- 
bable that  some  one  has  added  a  "gal"  to  Fionn,  and 
given   him   a   kingdom,    in  the    same  way  that  the 
Gaelic  name  Temair  has   been  expanded  to   Temora 
and  contracted  to  Tara  since  1391. 

It  is  proved  that  "  Earse  "  was  a  written  language 
three  centuries  ago,  and  has  altered  but  little  since, 
and  that  Johnson  and  his  followers  erred  in  many 
things.  It  is  proved  that  old  materials  existed  in 
Scotland  from  which  some  one  might  have  concocted 
at  least  one  book  of  Temora  without  stealing  from 
Ireland.      And   the   out-and-out   supporters    of   the 


6  2  OSSIÀN TRADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC. 

antiquity  of  the  Gaelic  of  1807  are  bound  to  produce 
something  like  Temora  as  it  now  stands  in  some  manu- 
script, equally  old,  though  it  has  been  ingeniously  sug- 
gested that  the  great  traditional  poems  were  then  so 
notorious  and  so  well  preserved  that  no  one  would 
take  the  trouble  to  write  them  down  or  multiply 
copies.  The  Gaelic,  then,  of  the  poems  of  Temora,  as 
published,  was  probably  put  together  by  some  Gaelic 
bard  who  lived  between  1530  and  1763,  when  the 
Gaelic  of  the  7th  book  of  Temora  was  printed,  though 
Oisein  lived  and  sung  long  before  the  twelfth  century. 
It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  probable  date  of  the 
published  poems  of  1807  cannot  be  more  accurately 
determined. 

Dean  MacGregor's  MS.  was  partly  written  in 
Argyleshire,  and  some  of  the  Gaelic  poetry  contained 
in  it  is  attributed  to  Duncan  MacCallein  an  dygriddir 
(Duncan,  son  of  Colin  the  good  knight),  who  fell  at 
Flodden,  and  some  to  two  ancestresses  of  the  family  of 
Argyll 

The  following  is  a  translation  of  six  lines,  which 
Mr.  MacLauchlan  was  good  enough  to  copy  and  spell 
for  me  from  the  Lismore  MSS.,  and  which  are  there 
attributed  to  "  Ysboll  ne  Yc.  Kellan"  (Isabel,  daughter 
of  Colin's  son) : — 

Woe  worth !  whose  ailment  's  love, 

Why-80-èèr, 

I  utter  it. 

'T  is  hard  from  a  partner  to  part ; 

Sad  is  the  case 

in  which  I  am. 


0S8IAN TRADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC.  63 

That  love  which  is  given  unknown, 
Since  it's  my  wonted 
Garden  for  lays    {light-ray  in  rhyming) 
Unless  I  plant  passion  betimes, 
my  flower  will  be 
blighted  and  thin. 
That  man  to  whom  love  is  given, 
and  must  not  be  told 
from  on  high    (out  aloud) 
For  him  was  I  put  into  pain. 
Heigh  ho  !  for  me    ("  gymi") 
"Lia  a  hundred  woes. 

woes. 
The  rhythm  indicates  the  division,  and  so  do  the 
assonances. 

Mairg  dha  'n  galar  an  GEADH 

G  bithy ath 

fa'n  abrain  e 

Deacair  sgarachdain  r'  a  PHAIRT 

truagh  an  cos 

's  a  bheileam  fhein. 

Several  lines  contain  words  whose  sound,  now-a- 
days,  would  admit  of  a  double  or  treble  meaning,  and 
some  of  these  might  be  distorted  by  one  who  was  led 
to  expect  something  wrong,  but  there  is  no  coarseness 
in  this  quaint  little  ditty;  and  if  this  be  < all  her 
poetical  sin,  the  poor  lady's  character  has  been  sadly 
maligned. 

This  class  is  amorous,  moral  and  satirical,  not 
Ossianic   poetry  ;  but   if  the  nobility  of  those  days 


64  08SIÀN TRADITIONS,    WRITINGS,    ETC. 

who  spoke  Gaelic,  composed  in  Gaelic,  and  wrote 
poems  similar  in  spirit  to  those  which  were  current  at 
court,  there  were  Ossianic  poems  of  a  different  stamp 
then  current  amongst  the  people.  If  it  can  be  shewn 
that  nobles  continued  to  use  the  language  at  a  later 
date,  it  becomes  not  only  possible  but  probable  that 
some  species  of  Gaelic  poetry,  different  from  popular 
ballads,  but  founded  on  Celtic  traditions,  might  have 
sprung  up  in  Scotland  before  the  times  when  Shak- 
speare  and  Milton  flourished  in  England,  or  even 
later,  and  yet  before  MacPherson's  time.  If  it  can 
be  shewn  what  were  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  district  in  which  lords  and  ladies  wrote  Gaelic 
poetry  about  these  times,  the  kind  that  would  be  apt 
to  please  may  be  surmised.  From  the  genealogy 
of  the  Argylls,  from  which  I  have  quoted  in  the  text, 
I  copy  the  following  passage  relative  to  Lady  MacLean, 
sister  of  Dean  MacGregor's  poetess  : — "  She,  according 
to  common  report,  was  exposed  by  her  husband,  the 
laird  of  MacLean,  upon  a  bare  rock  in  the  sea,  called 
Lersker,  near  the  island  of  Lismore,  in  view  of  the 
castle  of  Duart,  that  she  might  perish  by  the  return  of 
the  tide,  but  people  from  on  board  a  boat  providen- 
tially passing  that  way,  upon  hearing  the  cries  and 
shouts  of  the  lady  in  distress,  took  her  on  board,  and 
restored  her  to  her  friends,  although,  at  the  same  time, 
these  very  men  who  were  employed  to  expose  the  lady 
to  the  mercy  of  the  sea  returned  to  Duart  Castle,  where 
John  Gorm,  the  first  of  the  family  of  Lochnell,  a  boy 
of  three  or  four  years  of  age,  was  with  his  aunt,  the 
Lady  MacLean,  whom  they  had  left  upon  the  naked 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  65 

lock.  And  as  soon  as  they  bad  entered  the  castle  of 
Duart  they  kindled  a  great  fire  on  the  middle  of  the 
hall  floor,  and  formed  themselves  into  a  circle  around 
the  Are,  and  caused  strip  the  boy  John  Gorm  naked, 
and  placed  him  between  them  and  the  fire,  when  the 
boy,  by  reason  of  the  heat,  was  forced  to  run  round 
the  fire,  while  each  of  them,  as  he  passed  within  the 
circle,  rubbed  his  naked  skin  with  an  hot  roasted 
apple,  which  occasioned  blue  spots  on  the  boy's  skin 
ever  after,  for  which  he  was  called  John  Gorm,  or  blue 
John.  TTi«  nurse,  though  she  ran  into  the  hall  in 
a  furious  manner,  could  not  enter  the  circle  to  pre- 
serve the  child's  life,  until  by  means  of  one  M'Gilvra 
of  Glencannell,  who  had  more  humanity  than  the  rest, 
and  who,  as  they  stood  in  a  circle  with  their  feet  close, 
opened  his  legs  a  little  (for  he  durst  do  no  more  for 
fear  of  suspicion),  she  rushed  through  the  man's  legs, 
and,  entering  the  circle,  snatched  up  the  boy,  and  car- 
ried hiiTi  off  straight  to  the  shore,  which  is  hard  by  the 
walls  of  the  castle,  where,  finding  a  boat  at  hand,  they 
made  their  escape,  and  Providence  so  ordered  matters 
that  John  Gorm  and  his  nurse  were  out  of  danger 
before  their  enemy  had  full  room  to  reflect  upon  their 
flight,  for  which  cause  the  laird  of  MacLean  was  killed 
at  Edinburgh  by  John  Campbell,  the  first  of  the  family 
of  Calder,  brother  to  Lady  MacLean,  and  uncle  to  John 
Gorm,  the  first  of  the  family  of  Lochnell,  who,  as  soon 
as  he  saw  the  laird  of  MacLean,  he  thrust  the  sword, 
sheath  and  all,  through  his  body.  These  things  gave 
rise  to  a  song  composed  in  these  days  (take  up  MacLean 
and  prick  him  in  a  blanket)." 
vol.  rv.  f 


66  OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

The  main  incidents  of  this  story  were  all  told  to 
me  by  an  old  woman  in  September  1861.  She  speaks 
hardly  any  English,  and  is  very  old,  and,  like  many  of 
her  class,  speaks  oracular  predictions  now  and  then. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  she  knows  the  future  as  well  as 
she  remembers  the  past 

"Earl  Archibald  was  slain  at  Flodden."  So  says 
the  Argyll  genealogy,  whence  this  story  is  taken,  of  the 
days  when  Dean  MacGregor  wrote,  and  Henry  VIIL 
reigned,  and  Lady  Casselis  composed  amorous  Gaelic 
poetry,  if  she  be  the  lady  meant  by  the  family  his- 
tory. There  was  a  lady  called  "  Magrate  nan  oran " 
(or  something  which  looks  like  it),  "for  her  in- 
clination to  rhyming,"  who  was  a  younger  daughter 
of  "  the  last  Lord  Lorn  of  the  name  of  Stewart, "  and 
married  Colin  Earl  of  Argyll,  Glenurchy's  pupil,  about 
1460.  But  whoever  the  composer  of  these  songs  may 
have  been,  the  fact  remains,  that  before  the  times  of 
Shakspeare,  lords  and  ladies  composed  Gaelic  poetry, 
and  Dean  MacGregor  wrote  some  down  as  theirs ;  and 
they  were  people  of  a  class  likely  to  be  affected  by  the 
court  literature  of  their  day  and  country,  some  of  which 
was  rude  enough. 

Now  "Ossian's  poems"  are  distinguished  by  apecu- 
liar  rein  of  sentimental  grandeur  and  melancholy,  and 
the  popular  manners  and  customs  of  the  east  and  west 
in  these  days  do  not  accord  with  such  a  spirit  Short, 
stirring,  wad  martial  songs,  like  the  current  OssianTc 
poems,  or  political,  or  controversial,  or  amorous  bal- 
lads, might  suit  the  taste  of  the  grim  soldiers  who 
roasted  a  boy,  but  a  long  epic  would  surely  set  them 


0S8IAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  67 

fast  asleep  ;  so  unless  the  gentry  or  clergy  wrote 
"Ossian,"  we  most  abandon  the  sixteenth  century, 
and,  as  the  builder  of  Taymouth  said,  "birz  yont." 
Bat  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that,  amidst  all  the 
ribaldry  of  ballads  of  that  time,  there  is  much  beauty 
of  feeling  and  sentiment  in  the  lowland  Scotch  poetry 
of  the  clergy  ;  and  Shakspeare  wrote  as  he  did,  although 
the  amusement  of  roasting  men  had  been  pushed  to 
the  extreme  about  his  time  in  England 

Sir  David  Lindsay  composed  satires  against  the  1535. 
clergy,  some  of  which  were  acted  before  James  the 
fifth  and  his  Queen,  and  are  exceedingly  coarse.  In 
one  of  these  compositions,  a  pardoner  is  introduced 
-with  reliques  for  sale,  amongst  which  are  the  follow- 
ing : — 

"  Heir  is  ane  relict  lang  and  braid, 
Of  Fyn  MacCoull  the  richt  chaft  blaid, 

With  teith  and  al  togidder ; 
Of  Collins  cow  heir  is  ane  home 
For  eating  of  Mak  connals  come, 

Was  slane  into  Balquihidder." 

In  one  of  his  interludes  he  says — 

"  But  dowt  my  deid  yone  man  hes  sworne, 
I  trow  yone  be  grit  Gow  Makmorne." 

In  another  composition  the  poet  says — 

"  Stewart  of  Lome  will  carpe  richt  curiouslie." 

And  hence  it  appears  that  he  knew  something  of  west 
country  traditions,  and  mayhap  alluded  to  the  Stewarts, 


68  08SIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

of  whose  works  some  are  preserved.  Fyn  MacCoull  and 
Grol  MacMome  were  clearly  known  to  the  poet  and  his 
audience,  if  "Fingal"  was  not  mentioned  by  this 
author.  Colin  and  MakConnal  and  their  cow  might 
be  a  reference  to  some  well  known  story  about  a  feud ; 
but  a  horn  that  was  a  "  relic  "  must  have  been  that  of 
a  famous  cow,  and  there  are  plenty  of  such  animals  in 
the  old  stories  mentioned  by  Professor  O'Curry,  in  one 
of  which  ("The  tain"  above  mentioned)  MacCumhal 
plays  a  part.  But,  however  he  got  there,  Fyn  went  to 
court  about  1535,  and  was  presented  by  Sir  David 
Lindsay  in  a  dress  of  motley  for  the  second  tima 
(Hist  of  Scotch  Poetry,  3T6,  425). 

1630  A  manuscript  attributed  to  John  Beaton,  one  of 

the  family  which  furnished  the  MacDonalds  of  the 
Isles,  and  even  kings  of  Scotland,  with  physicians  for 
several  centuries,  is  preserved  with  other  MSS.  at 
Edinburgh.  These  are  supposed  to  have  belonged  to 
the  Beatons,  and  contain  medical,  metaphysical,  and 
mathematical  discussions,  all  in  Gaelic.  If  the  dialect 
and  character  be  Irish,  it  proves  that  early  Irish  and 
Scotch  learning  were  identical,  for  this  was  part  of  the 
library  of  a  Scotch  family  who  nourished  about  this 
time.  This  also  gives  a  clew  to  the  knowledge  of 
Gaelic  matters,  which  Scotch  courtiers  who  could  not 
now  speak  Gaelic,  evidently  possessed. 

1549.  A  provincial  council  of  Scotch  clergy  were  so  scan- 

dalized by  the  flood  of  ballads  poured  out  against  them, 
that  they  enjoined  every  ordinary  to  search  for  them, 
and  take  steps  for  the  punishment  of  the  offenders  who 
sang  them.     (Hist,  of  Scotch  Poetry,  391). 


08SIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  BTO.  69 

The  first  book  was  printed  in  Ireland — the  liturgy    1550. 
by  Humphrey  Powel. 

In  Lemoine's  history  of  printing,  it  is  stated  that  im- 
an  Irish  liturgy  was  printed  i  Dublin  for  the  use  of 
the  Highlanders  of  Scotland  "Reid"  supposes  this 
to  be  an  error.  I  have  not  heard  of  a  copy,  and  the 
book  meant  probably  is  CarswelTs  Gaelic  prayer-book,  1567* 
printed  at  Edinburgh  in  Roman  type.  Of  this,  there 
is  a  copy  at  Inverary,  which  I  have  seen.  It  is  the 
first  printed  Gaelic  book  extant ;  and  in  the  preface  it 
alludes  to  the  habits  of  the  Highlanders  of  Scotland, 
who  then  composed  stories  about  the  "  Fianaibh,"  etc.* 
It  proves  that  the  reformed  clergy  set  their  faces  against 
the  old  heroic  traditions  which  Dean  MacGregor  had 
striven  to  preserve  thirty-seven  years  before,  and  which 
some  of  the  reformed  clergy  now  condemn. 

George  Bannatyne  collected  Scotch  poetry,  and  his  1568- 
manuscript  is  the  chief  source  whence  a  knowledge  of 
old  Scotch  poetry  has  been  gleaned.  MacGregor's  far 
earlier  Gaelic  collection  has  been  well  known  for  a 
century,  but  such  has  been  the  neglect  of  every  thing 
genuine  and  Gaelic,  that  till  now  its  contents  have 
hardly  been  thought  worth  attention. 

From  Bannatyne,  Ramsay  drew  his  materials  for 
the  Evergreen,  published  1724 ;  and  he  "  altered,  added 
to,"  and  "retrenched"  his  originals  "with  extreme 
licentiousness."     (Hist,  of  Scotch  Poetry,  416.) 

It  seems  hard  then  to  blame  MacPherson  as  if  he 
were  the  only  man  of  his  time  who  mangled  old 
poetry  to  make  new,  and  never  to  look  at  old  authorities 

*  See  page  18. 


70  OSSIAN— TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

to  see  what  was  the  truth.     The  fault  has  been  as 
much  on  the  Gaelic  side  as  the  other ;  but  that  fault  is 
about  to  be  amended. 
1571.  First  book  printed  in  the  Irish  character  with  a 

press  and  types  got  from  Queen  Elizabeth.  It  is  a 
catechism  ;  and,  so  far,  it  appears  that  Gaelic  Scotland 
was  a-head  of  Ireland  in  the  literary  race,  for  the  first 
known  Gaelic  book  was  printed  in  Edinburgh. 
1579  to  1582.  Sir  Duncan  Campbell  of  Glenurchay  delighted 
in,  and  is  supposed  to  have  twice  transcribed  a  ponder- 
ous romance,  which  is  at  Taymouth — "  the  Buike  of 
King  Alexander  the  Conquero^e,"  a  translation  of  the 
great  French  "  Eoman  d*  Alexandre,"  executed  by  Sir 
Gilbert  Hay,  c.  1460,  and  extending  to  about  20,000 
lines.  This  old  knight  died  1631,  aged  86  ;  he  is 
styled  Black  Duncan  of  the  cap,  and  his  history  is 
given  in  the  black  book  of  Taymouth,  and  in  Sketches 
of  Early  Scotch  History  by  Cosmo  Innes.  Here  then 
we  have  foreign  romances  creeping  in  amongst  the 
aristocracy  of  the  West  Highlands,  in  the  very  family 
whose  ancestors  had  composed  Gaelic  poetry. 
1594.  Mr.  Donald  Monro,  high  dean  of  the  Isles,  wrote  a 

statistical  account  of  the  Western  Isles,  which  was 
printed  in  1818.  The  first  island  mentioned  is 
"Manain,"  or  Man  in  "Erishe,"  which  was  "ordynitby 
Fynan,  King  of  Scottis,  to  the  priests  and  philosophers, 
called  in  Latin  Druides,  in  English  Culdees,  and  Kil- 
deis ;  that  is,  worshippers  of  God ;  in  Erish,  Leid 
Draiche  ;  quhilks  were  the  first  teachers  of  religion  in 
Albion." 

So  here  is  another  Fyn  mixed  up  with  Druids  and 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  7  I 

Culdees,  Paganism  and  Christianity,  and  located  in 
that  stronghold  of  the  Fairies,  Man. 

No.  161  is  the  "  Pigmies'  He,"  in  which  the  Dean 
had  found  "  in  a  small  kirk "  the  small  round  heads  of 
small  men.  So  here  were  the  fairies  themselves.  The 
houses  of  a  small  race  still  exist  in  the  islands. 

Martin  also  mentions  these  small  bones  (page  19)  as 
these  of  "  Lusbirdean,"  and  I  have  many  Lewes  stories 
about  pigmies. 

Dean  Monro  gives  very  little  about  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  people  of  the  islands,  but  he  tells  that 
they  used  to  catch  seals  with  certain  "great  doggis"  in 
Loch  Gruinart  in  Islay,  which  must  have  been  a  curious 
scene. 

About  this  time  the  Black  Book  of  Taymouth  was    15ds- 
written  in  Latin  and  Scotch. 

New  Testament  printed  in  Irish,  and  dedicated  to    i603. 
James  the  First. 

In  this  year  a  manuscript  was  finished  by  Ewan 
MacPhail,  at  Dunstaffnage,  in  Lome ;  it  contains  a  prose 
tale  "  concerning  a  King  of  Lochlin,  and  the  Heroes  of 
Fingal;"  and  a  poem  which  seems,  from  the  lines 
quoted,  to  be  part  of  No.  lxxix.,  which  is  still  tra- 
ditionally preserved,  and  was  written  down  by  Dean 
MacGregor  in  1530.  I  have  seen  this  Dunstaffnage 
MS.,  and  can  hardly  read  a  word  of  the  old  writing. 

Sir  Duncan  of  Glenurchay  died ;  and  in  that  year   i63i. 
Calvin's  catechism  was  printed  in  Eoman  type  in  Gaelic 
at  Edinburgh,  so  the  reformed  clergy  were  making  efforts 
to  reform  the  Highlanders,  and  they  had  already  con- 
demned the  "lying  stories  about  Fin  ma  Co^y  Nrtàsii 


1033. 


72  OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

they  probably  supposed  to  be  like  the  lowland  ballads 
of  the  time ;  so  profane  literature  of  the  old  school  was 
held  at  a  discount  all  over  Scotland;  everything  was 
changing,  and  the  good  was  confounded  with  the  bad. 

About  this  time,  a  correspondence  took  place  which 
has  been  published  by  Mr.  Cosmo  Innes  in  his  Sketches 
of  Early  Scotch  History  (p.  319),  1861.  The  corres- 
pondents are — Sir  Colin  Campbell  of  Glenurchy, 
Juliane  Campbell,  his  wife,  daughter  of  Hew  Lord 
Loudon,  the  Marquis,  and  Earl  of  Argyle,  who  were 
both  subsequently  beheaded,  and  Margaret  Douglas, 
Argyle's  wife.  It  is  a  curious  measure  of  the  feeling 
of  the  writer  of  the  Argyle  genealogy,  that  he  has 
omitted  all  mention  of  this  death  on  the  scaffold,  with 
which,  as  Mr.  Innes  remarks,  these  "  were  subsequently 
honoured." 

The  spelling  of  the  letters  is  obsolete ;  they  give  a 
curious  picture  of  the  times,  and  they  are  well  worth 
perusal,  but  the  reason  of  the  correspondence  is  what 
concerns  me.  Argyle  and  his  wife  Margaret  Douglas 
are  anxious  that  their  son  Lome  should  have  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  what  they  called  "  Erise,"  which  Irish  and 
Scotch  Gael  call  Gaelic ;  and  they  send  the  young  chief 
of  the  Clan  Campbell  to  his  relative  to  Balloch,  now 
Taymouth,  where  his  foster  father,  writing  of  his 
tutor,  considers  it — "  requisit  he  be  ane  discreite  man 
that  is  ane  scollar,  and  that  can  speik  both  Inglis  and 
Erise,  quharof  I  think  thair  may  be  had  in  Argyll." 

Accordingly,  Lome  and  Maister  Jhone  Makleine 
set  off  with  "  Duncan  Archibald,  and  tuey  horse  with 
him,  on  to  Mr,  Johen,  and  on  for  my  cariage ;"  soon 


0S8UN — TBMHWONS,  WHITINGS,  ETC.  73 

after  the  "  tbietie  day  of  September  "  when  "  Archibald 
Campbell  of  Lome  "  wrote  to  his  "  louing  foster-father  " 
from  "  Inderaray,"  and  Mr.  Johen  having  misbehaved 
himself  some  one  else  was  procured  to  superintend  his 
studies.  His  mother,  Margaret  Douglas,  writes  14th 
December  1637 — "  I  heair  my  sone  begines  to  wearye 
of  the  Iriahe  langwadge.  I  entreat  yow  to  cause  holde 
hime  to  the  speakeing  of  itt,  for  since  he  has  bestowed 
so  long  tyme  and  paines  in  the  getting  of  itt,  I  sould  be 
eory  he  lost  it  now  with  leasines  in  not  speaking  of  it" 

On  the  14th  Junii  1639,  Margaret  Douglas  wrote 
to  u  Glenurchy  "  to  Balloch  for  her  son,  and  he  came  by 
the  house  in  Glenurchy  to  Inverary  with  a  sufficient 
company,  if  his  mother's  letter  was  attended  to.  It 
does  not  appear  from  his  accounts  that  he  wore  the 
Highland  dress ;  his  tutor  did. 

"  Item,  given  to  Mr.  Johnne  M'Len,  pedagogue  to 
my  Lord  Lome's  sone,  in  September  1633,  ane  hewit 
plaid,  pryce  xii.  lib."  Item,  the  18th  of  Junii,  to  be 
coat  and  brekis  to  him  (my  Lorde's  sone),  x.  quarteris 
of  fyne  skarlet,  xviii.  lib.  the  eU,  xlv.  lib.  Item,  anc 
pair  of  silk  stockings,  "  and  there  are  '  French  bever 
hats,  orange  ribband  points,  and  a  Spanish  pistolet' 
for  the  young  lord." 

Now,  from  all  this  gossip  about  historical  personages 
of  "Western  Argyle,  it  would  seem  that  Gaelic  was  still 
the  language  of  the  Highlands,  the  language  which  one 
who  was  to  command  its  people  ought  to  know,  but 
that  some  of  the  nobility  now  had  to  learn  it,  and  wore 
"  brekis." 

This  then  would  seem  to  be  a  time  for  collecting 


74  OSSTAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

all  that  could  be  got  together,  and  modelling  it  into 
some  connected  shape,  a  period  when  Gaelic  was  a 
studied  language,  and  when  noblemen  who  spoke  it 
delighted  in  the  romance  of  Alexander,  and  all  this 
took  place  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  "  the  woody 
Morven  "  where  "  Fingal "  was  supposed  to  reign,  and 
in  the  district  where  discreet  persons  could  be  found 
acquainted  with  Gaelic  and  English. 

There  is  no  trace  of  the  Ossian  of  1807  to  be 
found  amongst  any  known  writings  of  this  time ;  but 
if  the  Bannatyne  MSS.  and  some  others  had  been 
destroyed,  most  early  Scotch  poetry  would  have  been 
lost.  Tradition  has  not  preserved  the  "Palice  of 
Honour"  or  "The  Daunce,"  though  it  has  retained  far 
older  ballads. 

1645.  A  deed  of  fosterage  was  written  in  Gaelic  between 

Sir  Norman  MacLeod  and  John  Mackenzie,  which 
proves  that  Gaelic  was  then  used  in  legal  documents 
in  the  west. 

1655.  A  miscellaneous  collection   of  poems  on  various 

subjects,  "  partly  Scots,  and  partly  Irish,  was  written  by 
Eamonn  MacLachlan."  These  are  said  to  be  very 
good. 

1659.  First  fifty  Psalms  printed  in  Gaelic. 

i68i.  Colville,  in  the  Whigg's  Supplication,  published  in 

London  (Part  II.,  page  24),  gives  a  version  of  a  story 
which  has  some  resemblance  to  the  legend  in  No.  li., 
though  it  is  not  like  Ossian's  poetry  : — 

One  man,  quoth  he,  oft-times  hath  stood, 
And  put  to  flight  a  multitude ; 


08SIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  75 

Like  Sampson,  Wallace,  and  Sir  Bewis, 
And  Finmacowl,  beside  the  Lewis, 
Who  in  a  bucking  time  of  year, 
Did  rout,  and  chase  a  herd  of  deer, 
Till  he  behind,  and  they  before, 
Did  run  a  hundred  miles  and  more, 
Which,  questionless,  prejudg'd  his  toes, 
For  Eed-shanks  then  did  wear  no  shoes, 
For  to  this  day  they  wear  but  calf  ones, 
Or  if  older,  leather  half-ones. 
He  chased  them  so  furiouslie, 
That  they  were  forced  to  take  the  sea, 
And  swam  from  Cowel  into  Arran, 
In  which  soil,  though  it  be  but  barren, 
As  learned  antiquaries  say, 
Their  offspring  lives  unto  this  day. 

I  may  add,  that  at  this  day  men  still  point  out 
Dun  Finn,  in  Arran,  and  explain  "  Ar-ainn"  to  mean 
Arfhinn,  Fin's  land ;  and  that  Cowal,  which  sounds 
like  MacCowl,  is  still  brimful  of  Fenian  traditions. 
On  West  Loch  Tarbert  are  places  called  "  Leaba  Dhiar- 
maid,"  the  bed  of  Diarmaid ;  "  Dun  'a  choin  duibh," 
the  fort  of  the  Black  Dog,  which  is  a  curious  old  fort 
in  a  wood,  and  is  said  to  be  the  place  where  Bran 
killed  the  black  dog,  as  is  told  in  the  well-known 
ballad.  Near  that  is  "  Tor  an  tuirc,"  the  boar's  heap, 
where,  according  to  tradition,  the  boar  was  killed  by 
Diarmaid ;  and  all  these  places  are  below  "  Sliabh 
ghaoil,"  to  which  "  Diarmaid,"  or,  according  to  others, 
"  an    old  hunter,"    addressed  these  lines  \rtisn  \l* 


*]6  08SIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

was  dying.  They  are  known  to  many  about  Tar- 
bert : — 

Sliabh  mo  chridhe  *s  an  sliabh  ghaoil, 
Innis  nan  crodh  laoigh  's  nan  each. 
Esan  cha  team  a  nuas, 
Mise  cha  d'  theid  suas  am  feisd. 

Mount  of  my  heart  and  the  mount  of  love, 
Isle  of  the  calving  cows  and  the  horses. 
It  will  never  descend, 
I  will  not  mount  up  for  ever. 

Another  place  in  the  district  is  called  "Leum  na 
muice,"  the  swine's  leap ;  and  other  similar  names 
abound,  which,  together  with  Colville's  verses,  shew 
that  Fingalian  legends  have  been  localized  in  the  west 
for  a  long  time.* 
1684.  Kirk's  edition  of  the  Psalms  has  four  lines  of  poetry 

which  are  quoted,  page  21  of  the  report  of  the  High- 
land Society  on  Ossian,  and  which  may  be  thus  closely 
translated : — 

"  Go  leaflet  boldly  forth 
"With  God's  pure  songs  arouse  them  yonder ; 
Hail  the  generous  land  of  Fionn, 
The  rough  bounds  and  isles  of  the  stranger." 

Inseabh.  Gall,  the  Hebrides  were  so  called  from 

their  Norse  masters.     This  then  proves  that  Scotland 

was  considered  to  be  the  land  of  Fionn  eighty  years 

before  MacPherson  published  anything. 

1690  First  Irish  version  of  the  Bible,  printed  for  the  use 

*  Hist,  of  Scotch  Poetry,  p.  276. 


OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  77 

of  the  Highlanders  of  Scotland ;  3000  copies,  Eoman 
type. 

A  manuscript  written  by  a  MacLean,   at   Ard   i69i. 
Chonail,  on  Lochowe,  in  Argyleshire,  contains  tales 
and  poems,  one  on  the  imprisonment  of  Archibald 
Earl  of  Argyll,  at  Edinburgh,  about  1680. 

This  MS.  is  described  in  the  Highland  Society's 
report  So  Gaelic  continued  to  be  written  during  the 
seventeenth  century  by  Scotchmen  in  Scotland,  they 
used  it  in  legal  documents,  wrote  tales  about  the  ancient 
heroes,  and  poetry  of  various  kinds ;  but  the  poems  of 
1807  are  not  yet  found. 

This  was  written  (apparently)  in  the  Scotch  dialect, 
so  it  would  appear  that  there  was  a  popular  and  a  cul- 
tivated dialect,  both  of  which  were  supposed  to  pass 
current  in  Scotland. 

Martin,  a  Lewes  doctor,  wrote  an  account  of  the  1703. 
"Western  Isles,  which  gives  a  great  deal  of  information 
about  the  ways  of  the  people.  At  page  217,  he  speaks 
of  the  traditions  of  Fin  MacCouTs,  a  great  giant,  whom 
he  mentions  as  a  well-known  personage  who  had  exer- 
cised his  valour  on  the  inhabitants  of  Ar-Fyn,  or  Fin's 
stronghold,  which  is  the  derivation  given  for  Arran. 

The  standing  stones  are  mentioned  as  confirmation 
of  this  story. 

It  so  happens,  that  the  ground  about  many  of  these 
stones  was  lately  searched,  and  it  seems  that  they  really 
do  mark  burial  places  of  the  stone  period.  Human 
bones,  charcoal,  and  flint  implements,  were  found  about 
the  centres  of  circles,  in  whose  circumference  four  large 
stones  or  more  are  placed. 


78  OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

In  one  case  the  bones  were  much  broken,  and 
placed  in  a  small  grave  about  two  feet  long,  scooped 
out  of  the  rock.  The  bones  were  of  the  ordinary  size, 
and  did  not  appear  to  have  been  burned ;  so,  unless 
the  body  was  cut  to  pieces,  it  is  not  easy  to  make  out 
how  it  was  buried  Close  to  this  grave,  in  a  place  called 
Dun  Finn,  Fin's  fort  This  seems  to  place  Fionn  in 
the  "  stone  period,"  when  iron  was  rare,  and  elk  sur- 
vived in  Britain,  according  to  antiquaries.  Popular  tales 
and  songs  appear  to  do  the  same. 

1720.  Clanranald's  bard  wrote  in  the  "  Irish"  hand  in 

the  islands. 

1740.  First  Gaelic  vocabulary  printed.     Macdonald's. 

First  work  published  in  the  then  Scottish  dialect 
of  Gaelic — Baxter's  Call  to  the  Unconverted,  translated 
by  an  Argyleshire  minister.  (Celtic  Gleanings,  138.) 
So  far,  then,  the  printing  press  had  been  employed 
solely  in  the  cause  of  religion,  and  anything  in  the 
nature  of  profane  Gaelic  literature  had  been  condemned 
in  the  first  book  printed  in  Scotland. 

1740.  Or  thereabouts,  a  Mr.  Farquharson  made  a  Gaelic 

collection  about  Strathglas,  which  he  subsequently  com- 
pared with  MacPherson's  English,  which  he  pronounced 
to  be  a  bad  translation  of  good  poems  which  he  had. 

i75i.  Alexander  Macdonald's  volume  of  songs,  reprinted 

1764  and  1802.  These  were  much  read  and  eagerly 
sought  at  the  time,  which  proves  that  the  old  taste  for 
native  poetry  was  not  extinct  amongst  the  people. 

1756.  Jerome  Stone's  translation  of  Fraoch,  of  which  the 

original  Gaelic  was  recovered  from  his  papers  after  his 
death,  and  is  given  in  the  report  of  the  Highland  So- 


0SSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  79 

ciety  (Appendix,  p.  99).  It  still  survives  in  frag- 
ments, in  1860,  in  Scotland,  amongst  the  most  un- 
learned classes.  Stone  was  an  Englishman,  and  his 
translation  is  a  paraphrase,  but  faithful. 

It  was  first  published  in  the  Scots  Magazine,  and 
is  an  indication  of  the  taste  of  the  period.  Attention 
had  been  called  to  Gaelic  poetry  and  the  Gael  by  the 
battles  of  1715  and  1745.  The  first  who  translated, 
made  a  paraphrase,  and  thought  more  of  himself  than 
of  his  original ;  and  almost  every  attempt  since  made 
to  translate  Gaelic  into  English,  or  English  into  Gaelic, 
has  been  of  this  kind. 

Mr.  Pope's  collection  was  made.  He  was  minister  of  1756. 
Beay,  and  his  manuscript  contains  a  poem  which  can  be  1763- 
traced  inTemora ;  "  Erragon,"  called  Dibird  fliLathmon ; 
Cath.  Gaur,  with  the  death  of  Oscar;  Duan  Dearmot,  an 
elegy  on  the  death  of  that  warrior,  which  was  sung  by  an 
old  Campbell,  who,  when  he  did  so,  always  took  off  his 
bonnet  in  respect  for  his  ancestor.  These,  and  many 
other  pieces,  were  sung  in  1 763,  by  people  who  had  then 
never  heard  of  MacPherson ;  but  I  have  pieces,  under 
the  same  names,  which  were  still  sung  in  1860.  It  is 
not  said  that  any  of  these  correspond  exactly  with 
MacPherson's  published  translations,  but  Mr.  Pope 
compared  them  with  his  originals,  and  recognized  those 
above  mentioned  in  MacPherson's  English.  Were  I 
now  to  read  the  first  book  of  Temora  for  the  first  time 
in  English,  I  should  in  like  manner  recognize  my  tra- 
ditional version  of  the  "  death  of  Osgur,"  though  it  is 
not  the  Gaelic  of  1807,  nor  Gaelic  from  which  the 
English  of  1760  could  have  been  translated. 


80  OSSLàJ* — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

It  seems,  then,  that  during  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  before  MacPherson's  time,  attention  had  been 
drawn  to  the  manners  and  customs,  poetry,  and  amuse- 
ments of  the  Highlanders,  who  in  1715  and  1745  had 
startled  England  and  the  Lowlands  out  of  their 
propriety ;  and  the  first  bit  of  direct  evidence  which 
tells  strictly  for  the  authenticity  of  MacPherson's 
translation  dates  from  about  a  period  when  some  col- 
lector might  be  expected  to  cater  for  the  public  taste, 
as  Stone  did.  I  think  it  highly  probable  that  some 
one  before  MacPherson  may  have  done  that  which. 
Dr.  Smith  tells  us  he  did  after  him,  namely,  gather  all 
he  could  get,  and  tinker  it  according  to  his  own  notions 
of  what  an  old  Gaelic  poet  ought  to  have  written  in 
the  third  century,  but,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Farquharson  manuscript,  I  have  found  no  mention 
of  any  thing  to  support  MacPherson's  publications, 
so  far,  either  in  manuscript  or  print,  though  Mac- 
Pherson's heroes  pervade  a  whole  series  of  early 
documents  and  Gaelic  literature  of  all  ages,  Scotch 
and  Irish,  and  his  poems  include  bits  which  are  clearly 
old. 

My  theory  then  is,  that  about  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  or  the  end  of  the  seventeenth,  or 
earlier,  Highland  bards  may  have  fused  floating  popular 
traditions  into  more  complete  forms,  engrafting  their 
own  ideas  on  what  they  found;  and  that  MacPherson 
found  their  works,  translated,  and  altered  them ;  pub- 
lished the  translation  in  1760 ;  made  the  Gaelic  ready 
for  the  press ;  published  some  of  it  in  1763,  and  made 
away  with  the  evidence  of  what  he  bad  done  when  be 


OSSIAK — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  8 1 

found  that  his  conduct  was  blamed    I  can  see  no  other 
way  out  of  the  maze  of  testimony.    » 

If  the  statement  of  Mr.  MacGilvray,  given  at 
page  00  of  the  dissertation  prefixed  to  the  large  edition 
of  Ossian,  1807,  is  not  a  deliberate  falsehood,  there  is 
an  end  of  the  argument  which  makes  MacPherson  the 
author,  though  no  early  copy  of  the  entire  poems  is  known. 
It  is  said  that  the  very  poems  which  were  translated 
and  published,  "  Frugal ;  Temora,"  and  many  others, 
were  collected,  in  Gaelic,  in  Scotland,  from  the  people, 
long  before  1760,  and  these  were  subsequently  com- 
pared with  MacPherson's  published  translations  at 
Douay,  by  the  collector  of  the  Gaelic,  Mr.  Farquharson, 
who  did  not  know  MacPherson ;  and  the  translations 
were  found  by  Mr.  Farquharson  to  be  inferior  to  his 
Gaelic  originals,  inaccurate,  but,  in  the  main,  transla- 
tions so  far  as  they  went. 

Mr.  Farquharson's  manuscript  was  afterwards  torn, 
and  leaves  were  used  by  the  Douay  students  to  light 
their  fires,  and  if  any  part  of  it  now  exists,  it  is  lost ; 
but  it  was  not  written  in  the  third  century  but  in  the 
eighteenth,  chiefly  in  Strathglas.  At  page  75  of  the 
dissertation  is  a  statement  which  carries  conviction  with 
it,  if  such  evidence  has  any  weight ;  and,  assuming  the 
evidence  to  be  admissible,  and  placing  it  beside  what 
has  been  said  above,  there  may  have  been  some  learned 
unknown  Gaelic  poet  or  poets,  who  had  collected,  and 
arranged,  and  altered,  the  floating  traditions  of  the 
country,  between  MacPherson  and  Dean  MacGregor. 

It  is  at  least  certain  that  MacPherson  was  a  High- 
lander, and  that  some   Gaelic  bard  wrote  the  Gaelic 
vol.  rv.  g 


82  OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

of  1763  and   1807,  whatever  his  merits  may  have 
been. 
i7«o.  MacPherson's   first    publication   appeared,    "  The 

Fragments;"  a  second  edition  was  subsequently  pub- 
lished, and  these  are  now  rare  books. 

A  Mr.  Ewen  MacPherson,  a  schoolmaster,  accom- 
panied James  MacPherson  to  Skye  and  the  Long 
Islands,  and  gives  an  account  of  their  journey  in  his 
affidavit  (p.  95,  H.  S.  Beport).  The  schoolmaster 
wrote  down  a  great  many  poems  attributed  to  Ossian 
from  dictation,  and  his  companion  took  the  manuscript 
away  with  him,  as  also  a  small  manuscript  belonging 
to  Clanranald,  and  an  order  for  a  larger  manuscript 
which  was  in  Edinburgh.  The  schoolmaster  declares  his 
own  conviction  that  the  poems  of  Ossian  are  genuine, 
and  that  he  had  heard  them  commonly  repeated 
everywhere ;  but  as  there  was  no  Gaelic  Fingal  pub- 
lished when  the  affidavit  was  made,  this  does  not  apply 
to  the  publication  of  1807.  He  had  read  Fingal  in 
English,  and  thought,  so  well  as  he  could  remember 
"the  substance  of  the  original,"  that  the  translation 
was  "well  executed."  Another  MacPherson,  a  resi- 
denter  at  Portree,  deponed  that  his  brother,  a  smith, 
had  given  his  namesake  a  Gaelic  quarto  manuscript, 
which  contained  poems  which  the  smith  could  then 
repeat,  and  which  he  had  no  doubt  were  the  works  of 
Ossian.  But  this  does  not  prove  that  these  were  the 
originals  of  the  translations;  for  as  this  witness  could 
not  write,  it  is  not  probable  that  he  could  read  English. 

The  evidence  of  Mr.  Hugh  MacDonald,  given  in 
Gaelic,  and  confirmed  by  a  number  of  gentlemen  of 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  83 

the  Long  Island,  is  also  subject  to  this  objection.  They 
all  knew  something  of  Ossian's  poems,  and  believed 
them  to  be  genuine,  of  very  great  antiquity,  distinct 
from  and  superior  to  all  other  Gaelic  compositions ;  but 
there  was  only  some  published  Gaelic  for  the  poems  of 
Ossian  which  the  English  public  knew,  and  the  Celts 
seem  to  mean  one  thing,  while  the  Saxons  meant 
another.     These  collections  have  disappeared. 

The  quarto  edition  of  Fingal  and  other  translations    1762. 
published,  with  a  fine  title  page  picture  of  Ossian,  and 
a  lady  in  flowing  robes,  who  might  pass  for  any  classi- 
cal characters  that  ever  conversed. 

Temora  and  other  poems ;  this  volume  contains  the    nes. 
Gaelic  of  the  seventh  book  of  Temora,  423  lines.     It 
is  said  that  a  manuscript  copy  in  the  handwriting  of 
MacPherson  of  Strath  Mashie,  with  all  manner  of  cor- 
rections, still  exists.     I  have  not  seen  it. 

This  edition  is  commonly  bound  with  that  of  1762, 
and  the  selling  price  for  the  large  quarto  is  now  5  s. 

The  following  are  specimens  of  the  Gaelic,  as 
printed  by  MacPherson  in  1763,  in  Konian  type.  He 
says  it  is  "  stripped  of  its  own  proper  characters,"  that 
"  a  copy  of  the  originals  of  the  former  collection  lay  for 
many  months  in  the  bookseller's  hands  for  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  curious ;"  and  that  the  "  erroneous  spelling 
of  the  bards  is  departed  from  in  many  instances." 

Published  Gaelic  and  English,  divided  according  to 
the  rhythm : — 

0  Iinna  doir-choille  na  Leigo, 
From  the  wood -skirted  waters  of  Lego, 


84  OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

Air  uair,  eri  ceo  taobh-ghdrm  nan  ton ; 
ascend,  at  times,  gray-bosomed  mists  ; 
Nuair  dhunas  dorsa  na  h'  oicha 
when  the  gates  of  the  west  are  closed, 
Air  iulluir-shuil  greina  nan  speur. 
on  the  suris  eagle-eye. 

Tomhail  mo  Lara  nan  sruth 

Wide  over  Lards  stream 

Thaomas  du'-nial  as  doricha  cruaim  : 

is  poured  the  vapour  dark  and  deep : 

Mar  ghlas-scia,  roi  taoma  nan  nial, 

the  moon,  like  a  dim  shield, 

Snamh  seachad  tu  Gellach  na  h'  oichà. 

is  swimming  thro'  its  folds. 

Close  translation  of  the  Gaelic,  so  far  as  it  is  under- 
stood by  the  translator. 

From  the  pool  of  the  dark  woods  of  Leigo, 
The  blue-sided  wave-mist  rises  at  times  ; 
When  the  doors  of  night  are  closed 
On  th'  eagle-eyed  sun  of  the  skies. 

Thick  about  Lara  of  the  streams, 

Black  clouds  of  darkest  frown  are  poured  out ; 

As  a  gray  shield,  through  the  pouring  of  the  clouds 

Swimming  past,  is  the  moon  of  the  night. 

This  is  not  like  the  style  or  the  spirit  of  popular 
songs   and  ballads.       It   is    not    modern   vernacular 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC,  85 

Gaelic ;  it  is  not  the  old  written  language,  so  far  as  I 
know  it,  nor  is  it  Irish  ;  but  it  is  not  a  translation  of 
the  English  given  with  it,  for  it  has  metre,  and  asso- 
nance, and  a  meaning  of  its  own.  It  bears  a  resem- 
blance to  "  Mordubh ;"  and  as  it  was  published  in  1763, 
it  is  a  Gaelic  composition  at  least  98  years  old. 

The  following  four  lines  have  the  metre  and  asson- 
ances of  some  current  ballads  : — 

An  taobh  oitaig  gu  palin  nan  seoid 

Taomas  lad 

Ceach  nan  SPETJE 

Gorm-thalla  do  thannais  nach  beo 

Gu  am  err  fan 

Marbh  ran  nan  TEUD. 

In  the  side  of  a  blast,  to  the  heroes'  tent, 

they  pour  out 

the  mists  of  the  skies  ; 

a  blue  hall  for  shades  not  alive, 

till  the  rising  time  of  the  sound 

of  the  strings'  death-moan. 

In  this  case  the  Gaelic,  though  it  is  not  such 
Gaelic  as  men  speak  now-a-days,  expresses  more,  and 
seems  to  me  better  than  its  published  English  equiva- 
lent, which  is  not  a  true  rendering  of  it. 

"  Often  blended  with  the  gale, 

"  to  some  warrior's  grave, 

"  they  roll  the  mist)  a  gray  dwelling  to  his  ghost, 

"  until  the  songs  arise." 


86  OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

There  is  a  second  metre,  which  also  has  its  equiva- 
lent in  popular  ballads,  and  in  "  Fingal" — 

Ta  torman  a  machair  nan  gran 
Se  Oonar  ri  Erin  at*  an 

a  taoma*  ceo-tanaia  gu  dlu' 

Air  Faolan  aig  Lubhair  nan  sru. 

The  translation  given  is — 

"  A  sound  came  from  the  desart ; 

"  it  was  Conar,  King  of  Innisfail. 

"  He  poured  his  mist 

"  on  the  grave  of  Fillan,  at  the  blue-winding  Lubar." 

The  meaning,  as  I  understand  it,  is — 

"  There's  a  moan  from  the  outland  of  stems  ; 
It  is  Conar,  Erin's  king, 
pouring  out  ghostly-mist  closely 
upon  Eaolan  at  Lubhair  of  the  streams.' ' 

And  here  again  the  Gaelic,  with  all  its  grammatical 
peculiarities,  seems  to  have  the  best  of  it,  and  it  is  no 
translation.     And  so  it  is  throughout  the  specimen. 

The  Gaelic  and  English  do  not  quite  fit  each  other, 
and  the  Gaelic  seems  to  me  to  have  been  originally 
better  than  the  English,  though  many  words  are  used 
in  strange  ways,  and  the  whole  is  spelt  without  any 
fixed  rule.  The  Gaelic  has  most  ideas,  the  English 
most  words. 

The  orthography  is,  of  course,  the  scribe's.  It  is 
such  as  comes  to  me  from  men  who  have  not  studied 


0SSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  87 

Gaelic  writing.  It  is  like  my  own  spelling  when  I, 
who  never  learned  to  write  Gaelic,  try  to  take  down  a 
story  rapidly  from  dictation  ;  it  is  like  the  spelling  of 
Dean  MacGregor's  MS.  or  the  Manx  system  in  a 
transition  state ;  it  is,  in  short,  something  between 
phonetic  writing  and  old  Gaelic,  and  that  of  1 807.  As 
some  one  wrote  in  the  Gaelic  at  the  end  of  one  of  these 
ghostly  passages — 

*s  doilleir  so ! 
"This  is  dim!" 

As  MacPherson  says  in  his  rendering  of  the  line, 
which  I  strongly  suspect  was  a  comment,  which  the 
translator  mistook  for  a  line  of  poetry — 

"It  is  night!" 

But  through  this  dimness  and  night  it  may  be 
discerned  that  the  writer  of  the  English  was  not  the 
writer  of  the  Gaelic.  No  forger  could  have  written 
"  's  doilleir"  so  for  "  it  is  night." 

Strathmashie  did  not  write  Gaelic  of  this  kind  when 
he  wrote  in  his  own  name ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
Chatterton  afterwards  spelt  Eowly's  poems  according 
to  his  notion  of  ancient  English  spelling,  and  so  tried 
to  make  his  language  appear  old,  and  succeeded  for 
a  time ;  and  so  Strathmashie,  MacPherson,  or  some 
one  else,  may  have  done  the  same  :  but  guessing  is 
vain. 

Chatterton,  in  the  earliest  of  his  epistles  extant,    1768. 
imitated  the  English  of  "  Ossian." 

"  My  friendship  is  as  firm  as  the  white  rock  when 


88  OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

the  black  waves  roar  around  it,  and  the  waters  burst 
on  its  hoary  top,  when  the  driving  wind  ploughs  the 
sable  sea,  and  the  rising  waves  aspire  to  the  clouds, 
turning  with  the  rattling  hail.  So  much  for  heroics/' 
etc. 

It  is  supposed  that  "Fingal"  suggested  the  idea  of 
"Kowley's  poems"  to   that  wonderful   imitator   and 
original  genius,  the  author  of  the  Kowley  controversy, 
who  poisoned  himself  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
am.  In  this  year  a  clergyman  published  a  book,  which 

he  dedicated  to  "  Daniel  Campbell  of  Shawfield,  Esq.," 
then  proprietor  of  Islay.  He  called  his  work  "  Eingal, 
an  ancient  Epic  poem  in  six  books,  by  Ossian  the  son 
of  Eingal,  translated  into  English  heroic  rhyme  by 
John  Wodrow,  M.A.,  one  of  the  ministers  of  Islay." 
(Edinburgh,  1771.) 

This  seems  to  be  the  work  of  a  truthful,  unsuspect- 
ing, prejudiced,  wrongheaded,  worthy  man,  who  had 
a  talent  for  English  poetry.  He  believed  implicitly 
in  MacPherson's  translation  ;  he  tells  the  exact  truth 
so  far  as  he  knew  it ;  he  never  appears  to  have  sus- 
pected that  any  one  could  deceive  him ;  he  had  a 
standard,  and  forthwith  set  to  work  to  improve  it,  by 
"translating"  MacPherson's  English  prose  into  good 
English  verse  of  his  own  ;  while  he  was  surrounded  by 
people  who  were  constantly  repeating  Gaelic  poems, 
which  they  attributed  to  Oisein ;  and  which  he  neglected 
to  translate,  or  preserve.  There  is  a  perverse  simplicity 
in  thus  openly  and  obstinately  going  wrong  in  the 
wrong  way  ;  in  sticking  to  supposed  truth  against  all 
evidence,   that  would  have  made  the  worthy  minister 


OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WETTINGS,  ETC.  89 

die  a  martyr  for  a  false  religion  if  he  had  been  in- 
structed in  its  tenets. 

The  book  begins  thus — 

"  To  entertain  any  doubt  of  the  antiquity  or  authenticity  of  the 
poems  of  Ossian,  as  some  pretend  to  do,  can  only  flow  from  an 
affected  singularity  of  thinking,  or  from  mere  wantonness  of 
prejudice." 

The  grounds  for  this  opinion  follow  : — 

"  As  to  their  authenticity,  it  was  never  so  much  as  called  in 
question  in  Scotland ;  over  all  the  Highlands  and  isles,  it  is  uni- 
versally acknowledged.  It  is  well  known  that  the  most  illiterate 
old  people  there,  can  still  repeat  great  parts  of  many  of  the 
poems.  Unhappily,  indeed,  they  are  often  found  much  interpo- 
lated and  blended  with  the  wild  chimeras  and  absurdities  of  the 
bards  of  degenerate  days." 

Of  MacPherson's  translation  he  says  : — 

"  His  translation  is  faithful,  accurate,  elegant,  and  masterly." 
.  .  .  "  And  it  must  be  evident  to  many  that  he  often  falls  short 
of  his  original." 

And  having  said  so  much,  and  some  more  on  his 
own  account,  the  minister  gives  an  abstract  of  Blair's 
criticism  on  the  English  Ossian,  which,  just  as  it  is, 
-was  not  that  of  a  man  who  knew  Gaelic.  Then  at 
page  xo  comes  the  evidence  of  the  Islay  minister  him- 
self, which  is  more  valuable. 

"  For  my  own  part,  I  frankly  confess  that  I  am  not  possessed 
of  any  of  the  originals ;  they  are  to  be  met  with  at  greater  length, 
and  in  greater  purity,  in  those  parts  of  the  Highlands  and  isles 
most  remote  from  Ireland,  and  furthest  north."    {Bui  when  we  git 


90  OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

something  traditional  from  the  north  this  is  found  to  be  an  error, 
unless  Mordubh  be  a  fair  specimen).  "  Yet  in  the  southern 
parts  of  Argyleshire,  I  remember  from  my  infancy  to  have  been 
in  use  to  hear  fragments  of  them  repeated  by  old  illiterate  people, 
and  as  soon  as  I  could  judge  of  anything,  to  have  been  much 
struck  and  astonished  by  particular  passages.  I  now  live  in  an 
island  not  half  a  day's  sailing  distant  from  the  north  of  Ireland, 
the  very  scene  of  action  in  the  poem  of  Fingal ;  yet  I  could  find 
but  few  that  could  rehearse  any  considerable  portion  of  any  of 
the  poems,  and  that  neither  complete  nor  oonsistent  with  itself. 
What  I  have  thus  heard,  commonly  began  and  set  out  well,  in 
the  pure  and  dignified  style  of  Ossian,  but  soon  fell  off  in  mean 
conceits,  disgusting  absurdities,  and  ended  inconclusively.  The 
traditional  stories,  however,  of  these  heroes  are  well  known  and 
abundantly  familiar  to  all  ranks  in  these  parts.  I  have  only 
mentioned  this  as  an  adminicle  in  support  of  Mr.  MacPherson's 
position,  that  they  are  Scots  and  not  Irish  poems."  .  .  . 
"  There  is  scarce  a  hill,  a  heath,  or  vale  where  some  large  stones 
erected,  or  other  monuments,  are  not  to  be  met  with,  which  tradi- 
tion always  refers  to  the  time  of  Fingal ;  and  the  vulgar  bestow 
names  upon  them,  alluding  to  him  or  some  one  of  his  heroes." 

These  are  facts  from  which  I  would  draw  conclu- 
sions different  from  those  of  Mr.  Wodrow ;  hut  he 
tells  us  more ;  he  remembered  to  have  heard  of  a  class 
of  historians  inferior  to  bards,  called  "  SCELLACHA, 
or  narrators  of  facts."  (Tellers  of  tales  is  the  real 
meaning,  and  the  word  is  clearly  the  same  as  the  Norse 
Skald).  The  Bard,  as  the  minister  says,  used  to  sing 
to  the  harp  ;  and  the  Scellacha  to  fill  up  the  pauses 
by  telling  prose  history.     He  says,  p.  xcvii  : — 

"  I  have  met  with  some  old  people  among  the  vulgar  High- 
landers, who,  as  a  winter  evening's  entertainment,  have  rehearsed 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  9 1 

fictions,  or  tales  of  a  very  ancient  cast,  much  in  the  same  man- 
ner. The  gallant  or  heroic  parts  were  in  rhyme  or  measure,  and 
sung  to  an  air ;  the  ludicrous  incidents,  and  such  as  were  little 
interesting,  were  only  told."  .  .  .  "  Such  as  are  acquainted 
in  the  Highlands  must  know  that  ballad  singers  of  this  sort  are 
yet  to  be  met  with." 

And  haying  told  us  what  there  really  was,  the 
minister  leaves  it  with  contempt,  and  gives  his  reasons 
for  translating  the  English  Ossian  into  English  verse ; 
and  gives  us  "  Fingal"  in  a  measure  which  has  no  sort 
of  resemblance  to  that  of  any  Gaelic  composition  which 
I  know  j  still  it  is  a  very  readable  poem. 

In  the  arguments  we  get  some  traces  of  Gaelic.  The 
old  superstition  of  corpse  lights  is  given  as  derived  from 
Ossian's  ghosts.  It  seems  that  a  ghost  came  mounted 
on  a  meteor,  and  surrounded  twice  or  thrice  the  place 
destined  for  the  person  to  die ;  and  then  went  along 
the  road  through  which  the  funeral  was  to  pass,  shriek- 
ing at  intervals,  though  with  a  feeble  voice,  till  it 
came  to  the  place  of  burial,  and  disappeared.  The 
superstition  survives ;  the  telling  of  tales  and  singing 
of  ballads  goes  on ;  but  the  poem  is  so  far  forgotten, 
that  I  suppose  I  am  the  only  member  of  the  family  of 
the  man  to  whom  it  was  dedicated,  who  knows  the 
book  ;  even  I  never  saw  it  till  November  1861,  though 
I  have  always  heard  that  an  Islay  minister  had  col- 
lected the  poems  of  Ossian  in  Islay. 

The  minister  gives  two  specimens  of  his  collection, 
but  translations  only,  and  they  are  not  like  the  current 
traditional  poems.  I  may  as  well  say  here,  once  for 
all,  that  I  have  been  brought  up  in  the  belief  that 


92  0S8IÀN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

"The  Poems  of  Ossian"  were  something  familiarly 
known  to  the  people  of  the  Highlands  at  some  former 
period,  and  that  I  have  been  told  the  fact  by  a  great 
many  trust-worthy  witnesses.  But  I  am  now  con- 
sidering the  "poems  of  1807,"  and  I  can  only  regret 
that  I  have  not  got  Wodrow's  opportunity  of  forming 
an  opinion. 
1778.  Dr.  Johnson  arrived  on  the  14th  of  August  at 

Boyd's  Inn  at  the  head  of  the  Canongate,  and  shortly 
afterwards  made  his  famous  tour,  of  which  he  and 
Boswell  both  published  accounts.  From  these  dates, 
it  seems  that  Johnson  might  have  seen  part  of  Ossian 
in  the  Strand,  printed  in  Gaelic,  if  he  had  been  so 
minded,  ten  years  before  he  went  to  the  Highlands ; 
and  a  lot  of  manuscripts  at  the  publishers'  in  London 
before  that 
1774  to  1783.  A  certain  Duncan  Kennedy  collected  traditional 
poetry  in  the  West  Highlands,  and  named  seventeen 
of  his  authorities.  The  collection  is  now  preserved  in 
the  Advocates'  Library,  in  two  bound  volumes  of  manu- 
script One  is  marked  as  the  only  volume  given  to 
Dr.  Smith,  and  contains,  besides  a  number  of  Gaelic 
poems,  English  arguments  and  versions  of  stories,  many 
of  which  are  quite  familiar  to  me  as  current  traditions 
still;  some  are  given  in  vol.  iii  The  name  Fin^aZ 
is  used  in  the  English,  but  in  the  Gaelic  the  name  is 
Fion  or  Fionn. 

The  other  volume  is  better  written,  and  the  argu- 
ments are  in  better  English.  A  great  many  of  the 
poems  are  versions  of  ballads  still  traditionally  pre- 
served.    These  are  in  the  usual  traditional  metre,  and 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  93 

consist  of  smooth  regular  quatrains  with,  assonances. 
Two  words  at  the  end  of  the  second  and  fourth  lines 
are  similar  in  sound  and  quantity,  and  two  some- 
where in  the  middle  of  the  second  and  fourth  lines 
agree  with  the  terminations  of  the  preceding  lines  ;  the 
second  with  the  first,  and  the  fourth  with  the  third. 
Thus,  in  the  version  of  "Manus,"  on  which  poem 
"  Fingal"  is  supposed  to  be  founded,  Oisein  says — 

1.      A  chlerich  a  chanas  na  sailm, 
„   f  Air  learn  fein 

\  Gur  baobh  do  chial, 
3.      Nach  eisteadh  tu  tamul  sgeala 
,  j  Air  an  ffhein 
'  \  Nach  cual  thu  riamh. 

The  poet  is  speaking  to  a  churchman,  "  Padrac,"  and 
his  exordium  might  have  been  addressed  to  Bishop 
Carswell,  and  those  who  have  followed  him  in  striving 
to  extirpate  Gaelic  lore. 

Thou  clerk  that  utterest  psalms, 

To  me  it  seems 

Thy  wits  are  bad, 

Wouldst  thou  not  hearken  to  a  story 

Of  the  Feine 

Thou  hast  never  heard. 

Some  of  these  are  in  the  form  of  dialogues  between 
Oisein  and  his  father-in-law  *'  Peter  MacAlpain,"  and 
sometimes  Oisein  represents  the  Fein  as  warriors  of 
Eirinn.  Some  one  appears  to  have  thought  this  anti- 
Scotch,  and  has  improved  upon  the  original  by  im- 


94  OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

porting  from  another  poem ;  for  example,  the  following 
line  is  struck  out  in  ink— 

"  Nut  thional  Fiann  Eireann  gu  trai," 

When  gathered  the  Fiann  of  Eirinn  to  the  strand, 
and  a  line  is  written  in  the  margin,  in  a  more  modern 
hand,  which  means— 

"  Our  heads  are  bent  in  the  strife." 

"  Padruig  "  has  been  struck  out,  and  other  words  sug- 
gested, which  make  the  passages  which  follow  apply 
to  the  Feine,  and  not  to  the  saint,  of  Kennedy's 
authority.  The  stanza  is  given  at  the  bottom  of  the 
248th  page  of  the  H.  S.  Appendix,  and  is  there  made 
up  from  passages  taken  from  two  other  versions,  in 
which  Padruig  was  not  mentioned.  The  original  lines 
are  not  erased ;  so  these  are  only  suggestions,  but  this 
gives  a  curious  indication  of  the  unfair  spirit  which 
pervaded  the  Ossianic  controversy. 

The  poems  which  I  can  trace  as  still  current,  differ 
from  other  versions,  and  from  the  marginal  notes  it  ap- 
pears that  some  portions  of  them  were  claimed  by 
Kennedy  as  his  own  compositions.  The  bulk  of  the 
poetry  is  plain  narrative  converted  into  quatrains  of 
smooth  musical  verse,  which  could  easily  be  sung  and 
remembered,  and  I  believe  that  it  was  written  down 
from  dictation,  as  Kennedy  said.  Some  of  the  passages 
claimed  by  the  collector  as  his  own  are  more  senti- 
mental, with  more  similes,  different  in  rhythm,  and, 
as  I  think,  far  inferior.      Other  parts  claimed  by  the 


OSSIAN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  95 

scribe  as  his  own,  have  been  found  in  much  older 
manuscripts,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  a  man  who 
had  learned  so  much  poetry  by  heart,  might  confound 
the  old  with  the  new,  unintentionally.  I  hold  Ken- 
nedy's to  be  a  valuable  collection  of  the  traditional 
poems  of  1774  and  1783,  and  the  Eianaibh  were  then 
considered  to  be  Irish  warriors  by  the  people  about 
Loch  Awe,  where  Kennedy  made  part  of  his  collection. 
About  the  same  time,  a  certain  Fletcher  learned  a 
number  of  Ossianic  pieces,  chiefly  in  Argyleshire,  -which 
he  had  written  down  from  his  own  dictation.  He 
could  hardly  write  at  all,  and  could  not  read  the  manu- 
script, which  he  sold  to  the  Highland  Society;  but, 
nevertheless,  he  repeated  to  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
who  knew  Gaelic,  one  poem  which  is  in  the  manu- 
script, the  death  of  the  children  of  "  TJsno,"  which  is 
the  foundation  of,  but  is  not  "Darthula." 

This  bears  strongly  upon  the  controversy.  Ap- 
pendix B  to  the  Eeport  of  the  Highland  Society,  extends 
from  page  190  to  page  260,  and  gives  part  of  Eingal  in 
English  at  the  foot  of  the  pages,  and  a  Gaelic  compo- 
sition, and  an  English  translation  by  Dr.  Donald  Smith ; 
and  these  three  coincide  tolerably  welL  But  the  Gaelic 
is  not  good  poetry,  for  it  is  made  up  of  a  number  of 
separate  lines  taken  from  a  great  many  different  col- 
lections of  traditional  poetry,  to  which  references  are 
given.  Each  line  is  genuine,  and  in  Kennedy's  col- 
lection, and  the  rest,  formed  part  of  a  poem  which  bore 
some  likeness  to  the  story  of  Eingal,  or  to  parts  of  it- 
Some  stanzas  are  left  almost  entire,  but  the  new  com- 
position is  not  a  genuine  work,  and  it  is  spoiled.     The 


$6  OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

lines  detached  from  their  fellows  lose  all  the  rhythm 
and  assonance  which  gave  them  a  musical  cadence,  and 
stanzas  so  broken  and  mended,  and  displaced,  lose 
their  original  meaning.     "  Fingal "  is  like  this. 

The  composition  is  no  deception,  but  it  is  avowedly 
a  mosaic  constructed  from  several  old  works  of  high 
merit  spoiled  for  the  purpose.  The  makers  took  Fingal 
for  a  still  older  work,  and  pounded  genuine  old  mate- 
rials to  make  work  like  their  modeL  As  Dr.  Smith 
did,  so  probably  did  the  compounder  of  FingaL 

Ramsay  had  done   something  of  the  kind  with 
Scotch  ballads,  and  Percy  had  done  the  same  as  Earn- 
say.      Burns  and  others   did  the  same;    it  was  the 
fashion  of  these  times. 
1779.  The  Kev.    Donald   MacNicol,   M.A.,  minister   of 

Iismore  in  Argyleshire,  published  a  reply  to  Johnson's 
tour.*  As  the  minister  lived  close  to  Morven,  his 
evidence  is  worth  consideration.  BoswelTs  account 
of  his  journey  was  published  in  1785,  about  nine 
months  after  Johnson's  death.  This,  together  with  the 
Doctor's  tour  and  the  minister's  reply,  gives  a  view 
of  three  sides  of  the  question ;  and  when  the  state- 
ments are  picked  out  of  the  mass  of  opinions,  there  is  as 
little  reason  for  Johnson's  famous  attack  on  Scotch 
veracity  as  there  is  for  MacMcol's  quotation,  "  old  men 
and  travellers  lie  by  authority." 

It  seems  as  if  the  combatants,  blinded  by  national 
prejudice,  spent  their  energy  in  fighting  shadows. 
The  books  are  brimful  of  national  prejudice — English 
and  Scotch,  Lowland  and  Highland ;  but  they  contain 

*  LondoD,  printed  for  T.  Cadell  in  the  Strand,  1779. 


OSSIÀN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  97 

facts  which  can  be  authenticated,  and  statements  which 
I  believe,  because  the  rest  are  true. 

It  rests  on  Johnson's  authority,  that  there  were 
plenty  of  Gaelic  songs.  Boswell  gives  the  chorus  of 
one  by  ear,  and  it  still  survives.  It  also  rests  on  the 
Doctor's  authority,  that  people  made  statements  about 
Gaelic  matters,  and  that  he  did  not  believe  them,  which 
proves  nothing ;  and  that  he  heard  of  Gaelic  manuscripts 
which  he  believed  to  be  Irish,  but  which  he  could  not 
have  read  if  he  had  seen  them. 

The  minister,  on  the  other  hand,  who  understood 
Gaelic,  says,  p.  350 — 

"  Every  man  of  inquiry ;  every  person  of  the  least  taste  for 
the  poetry  or  turn  for  the  antiquities  of  his  country,  has  heard 
often  repeated  some  part  or  other  of  the  poems  published  by  Mr. 
MacPherson.  Hundreds  still  alive  have  heard  portions  of  them 
recited  long  before  Mr.  MacPherson  was  born ;  so  that  he  cannot 
possibly  be  deemed  the  author  of  compositions  which  existed 
before  he  had  any  existence  himself."  "  It  is  true  that  there  is 
no  man  now  living,  and  perhaps  there  never  has  existed  any  one 
person  who  either  can  or  could  repeat  the  whole  of  the  poems  of 
088ian."  ..."  Mr.  MacPheraon's  great  merit  has  been  in 
collecting  the  disjecta  membra  poetse ;  and  his  fitting  the  parts 
so  well  together  as  to  form  a  complete  figure." 

This  statement  is  supported  by  the  Irish  claim  to 

the  poems ;  and  if  it  be  remembered  what  people  meant 

by  translations  in  those  days,  it  seems  that  the  minister 

spoke  the  truth  according  to  his  lights,  and  the  doctor 

according  to  his.     MacMcol  mentions  a  great  many 

Gaelic  MSS.,  and  many  of  these  are  quoted  above,  and 

exist ;  and  he  also  mentions  a  number  of  other  manu- 
vol.  rv.  H 


98  OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS*  ETC. 

scripts  which  probably  did  exist  then,  wherever  they 
are  now. 

At  page  360,  MacNicol,  in  speaking  of  the  forth- 
coming Gaelic  Ossian,  says — "  It  would  be  impossible 
for  any  person,  let  his  talents  be  ever  so  great,  to  im- 
pose a  translation  for  an  original  on  any  critic  in  the 
Gaelic  language." 

So  the  minister,  knowing  that  there  were  Ossianic 
poems  current,  and  recognizing  them  in  the  English, 
believed  in  the  forthcoming  Gaelic ;  and  Johnson  who 
knew  nothing  but  the  English,  held  that  MacPherson 
was  the  father  of  Ossian ;  and  neither  of  them,  as  it 
seems,  had  looked  at  the  Gaelic  of  the  seventh  book 
of  Temora,  which  might  have  prevented  them  from 
using  such  strong  language.  This  seems  to  have  been 
the  prevailing  spirit  of  the  Ossianic  controversy.  Men 
have  argued  as  partisans  without  first  defining  the 
points  on  which  they  would  agree  to  differ ;  and  like 
partisans,  they  have  belaboured  each  other  unjustly. 
Boswell  states,  that  a  certain  Mr.  Macqueen  told 
Johnson,  as  to  "  Fingal,"  "  that  he  could  repeat  some 
passages  in  the  original ;  that  he  heard  his  grandfather 
had  a  copy  of  it ;  but  that  he  could  not  affirm,  that 
Ossian  composed  all  that  poem  as  it  is  now  published" 
Johnson  had  contended  that  "  it  is  no  better  than  such 
an  epic  poem  as  he  could  make  from  the  song  of  Kobin 
Hood"  (p.  127,  Boswell,  Eoutledge,  1860).  Boswell 
held  that  Mr.  Macqueen's  statement  amounted  to  what 
his  hero  Johnson  had  maintained  :  but  Johnson  called 

-y  ' 

MacPherson    "the  father  of  Ossian,"    and  he  would 
not  have  called  himself  the  father  of  Kobin  Hood  if 


OSSIAN — TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  BTa  99 

he  had  composed  an  epic  about  that  half  mythical 
heio ;  so  he  was  scarcely  fair,  even  if  he  was  right. 

Mr.  John  Clark  published  translations  of  ancient  1780. 
Gaelic  poems,  one  of  which  was  "  Mordubh."  Part  of 
this  was  known  to  Mrs.  Grant  of  Laggan,  a  lady  whose 
"  Letters  from  the  Mountains,"  have  made  her  name 
famous.  The  Gaelic  appeared  in  Gillies,  1786.  The 
English  is  like  MacPherson's  ;  the  Gaelic  like  that  of 
1807,  and  I  am  inclined  to  rank  "Mordubh"  with 
"Ossian." 

Mr.  Hill,  an  Englishman,  got  some  copies  of  nso. 
Gaelic  poems  from  a  blacksmith  at  Dalmally,  in 
Argyleshire.  These  include  a  dialogue  between  Ois- 
hein  and  Padruig,  given  in  the  Appendix  to  the 
Highland  Society's  Eeport,  "Cath  Mhanuis,"  which 
survives,  and  a  version  of  which  was  subsequently 
published  in  Irish  by  Miss  Brooke.  "  How  Diarmaid 
slew  the  venomous  boar,"  which  survives.  "How 
Bran  was  slain,"  which  survives ;  and  the  "  Prayer 
of  Ossian."  These  were  published  in  the  Gentleman's 
Magazine,  and  afterwards  in  a  small  pamphlet.  The 
"  Prayer  of  Ossian,"  the  dialogue  referred  to,  resembles 
closely  some  of  the  poems  in  the  late  publications  of  the 
Ossianic  Society  of  Dublin.  There  are  36  verses,  or 
144  lines  of  religious  arguments  on  one  side,  praise  of 
the  ancient  heroes,  and  pagan  defiance  on  the  other.  I 
have  not  a  doubt  that  these  are  perfectly  genuine  popu- 
lar poems. 

About  the  same  time,  Lord  Webb  Seymour,  and    1760. 
Professor  Playfair,  also  made  a  tour  of  the  Highlands, 
and  heard  a  poem  repeated  in  Skye,  which  was  trans- 


IOO  OSB1AN TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

lated,  and  which,  from  the  description  given  of  it,  ap- 
pears to  be  Moira  Borh,  or  Fainesolis,  of  which  I  have 
several  versions,  and  which  is  an  episode  in  "  Ossian," 
and  these  gentlemen  heard,  and  heard  tell  of  many 
other  poems  which  seem  to  be  the  same  as  those  still 
current,  though  now  far  rarer.  They  met  an  old  lady 
who  had  herself  repeated  one  such  poem  to  Dr.  Johnson. 

1785.  By  this  time  MacPherson  had  risen  in  the  world. 

Mrs.  Grant  wrote  to  her  friend  (Letter  xxvi.,  p.  134, 
vol.  ii.)  : — 

"  The  bard,  as  I  was  about  to  tell  you,  is  as  great 
a  favourite  of  fortune  as  of  fame,  and  has  got  more  by 
the  old  harp  of  Ossian  than  most  of  his  predecessors 
could  draw  out  of  the  silver  strings  of  Apollo.  He 
has  bought  three  small  estates  in  this  country  within 
two  years,  given  a  ball  to  the  ladies,  and  made  other 
exhibitions  of  wealth  and  liberality.  He  now  keeps 
a  hall  at  Bellville,  his  new-purchased  seat,  where  there 
are  as  many  shells  as  were  in  Selma,  filled,  I  doubt 
not,  with  much  better  liquor."     .     .     . 

178«.  John  Gillies,  a  Perth  bookseller,  who  did  not  un- 

derstand Gaelic  himself,  published  a  volume  of  Gaelic 
collected  in  the  Highlands,  which  seems  to  deserve 
particular  attention,  and  is  referred  to  below. 

1787.  The  Gaelic  of  Smith's  collection  appeared ;  it  was 

avowedly  patched  and  mended,  and  pruned.  It  con- 
tains many  lines  and  stanzas,  which  now  survive  in 
various  shapes,  and  which  were  collected  by  others  long 
ago,  but  it  is  not  popular  now,  and  it  is  little,  if  at  all, 
known  to  the  people.  It  seems  to  represent  a  different 
class  of  poetry,  though  the  subjects  are  the  same  as 


OSSIAN— TRADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC.  IOI 

the  themes  of  the  ballads  which  survive.  Either  these 
represent  a  class  of  poetry  which  had  sprung  up 
amongst  the  educated,  and  which  is  forgotten  now  that 
aristocrats  have  abandoned  the  old  tongue ;  or  these 
are  popular  songs  mercilessly  improved,  till  they  have 
lost  their  character.  I  would  rank  them  near  Mordubh, 
but  they  are  nearer  to  the  ballads  than  "Ossian." 

So  iar,  then,  all  the  collectors  found  something 
which  had  some  relation  to  "  Ossian's  Poems,"  but  no 
one  except  Farquharson  had  found  the  poems  them- 
selves; and  every  one  who  translated,  had  written 
paraphrases  of  what  he  found.  Stone,  and  MacPher- 
son,  and  Smith,  all  took  liberties  alike. 

In  this  year  Edmund  Baron  de  Harold,  gentleman 
of  the  bed-chamber  to  the  Elector  Palatine,  published 
an  Irish  Ossian,  of  which  he  says — "  These  poems, 
though  founded  on  tradition,  are  entirely  of  my  com- 
position/'  Still,  they  were  called  poems  "  discovered" 
by  the  Baron,  and  purported  to  be  taken  from  Irish 
originals.  The  book  was  dedicated  to  Grattan.  What- 
ever can  be  said  against  MacPherson's  Ossian  applies 
to  this,  and  it  wants  the  merit  of  originality. 

Miss  Brooke  published  an  Irish  collection  with  a  i7S9. 
very  free  "  translation,"  but  with  the  originals.  It 
contains  (1)  Conlaoch,  (2)  Magnus  the  Great,  (3)  the 
Chase,  (4)  Moira  Borb,  (5)  War  ode  of  Osgar,  the  son 
of  Oisin,  in  front  of  the  battle  of  Gabhra,  (6)  Ode  to 
Gaul,  the  son  of  Morni,  and  some  modern  pieces ;  and 
this  publication  establishes  the  close  resemblance  which 
then  existed,  and  now  exists  between  Irish  and  Scotch 
Gaelic  poetry;  but  as  Gillies  had  published  a  "Lay 


I02  OSSIAN-^TBADITIONS,  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

of  Magnus,"  and  one  of  "  Conlaoch,"  two  versions  of 

"  Moira  Borb,"  a  "  Death  of  Oscar,"  and  an  "  Ode  to 

GoU,"  and  many  more  of  the  same  kind,  collected  in 

Scotland,  three  years  before  Miss  Brooke's  publication, 

which  I  believe  to  have  been  the  first  of  its  kind  in 

Ireland — this  does  not  support  the  modern  Irish  claim 

to  every  thing,  Gaelic  and  old,  though  it  is  a  genuine 

work. 

1796.  In  this  year  MacPherson  died.      Mrs.  Grant  of 

Laggan  describes  his  end  in  a  letter  dated  February 

20,  and  tells  that  one  of  his  latest  acts  was  to  "  frank 

a  letter."  So  the  Highland  schoolmaster  had  risen 
high. 

1808.  A  collection  was  made  by  MacDonald  of  Staffa. 

This  contains  pieces  which  I  do  not  know.  There  are 
some  prose  tales,  including  one  about  "The  Great 
FooL"  There  are  also  a  number  of  other  paper  manu- 
scripts in  the  Advocates'  Library,  which  contain  frag- 
ments of  collections  made  in  the  Highlands  about  this 
time. 

1804.  A  collection  of  the  works  of  the  Highland  bards, 

collected  in  the  Highlands  and  Isles  by  Alexander  and 
Donald  Stewart,  contains  592  pages,  about  11,000  lines 
of  poetry;  the  greater  part  consists  of  songs  whose  authors 
are  known.  Some  of  these  I  have  heard  sung,  some  I 
can  sing  myself,  and  many  may  still  be  picked  up  in 
the  Highlands,  wherever  the  church  has  not  stilled 
profane  music.  Amongst  these  are  a  number  of  com- 
positions which  differ  from  them  as  an  oak  does  from 
a  daisy.  Such  is  the  Battle  Ode  of  the  Clan 
Dornhnull,  composed  by  Lachlan  Mor  MacMhurrich  on 


OSSIAN — PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE.  IO3 

the  Battle  of  Harlaw.  It  is  a  string  of  alliterative 
adverbs  so  arranged  as  to  imitate  the  rhythm  of  a 
pibroch,  and  exhaust  all  the  epithets  available  under 
all  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  in  turn.  There  are 
eight  other  compositions  which  are  old  and  "  Ossianic." 

Poems  of  Ossian  were  also  collected  by  J.  Mac- 
Donald  in  the  western  parishes  of  Strathnaver,  Boss, 
and  Inverness-shire.  These  are  of  the  usual  traditional 
class.  There  are  many  versions  of  well-known  ballads, 
but  no  epic  poetry. 

Now,  all  these  were  written  while  there  was  but 
little  published  Gaelic  for  "Ossian;"  if  there  had  been 
any  epics  then  current,  they  would  surely  have  been 
found ;  if  there  had  been  any  inclination  to  make  false 
translations  there  was  ample  opportunity. 

Eeport  of  the  Highland  Society  on  the  authenticity   i805. 
of  the  Poems  of  Ossian. 

Ossian.     Published  Evidence. 

If  anything  could  be  ascertained  relative  to  the 
authenticity  of  the  poems,  it  was  to  be  done  by  going 
direct  to  the  oldest  surviving  inhabitants  of  the  dis- 
tricts where  they  were  said  to  be  found  That  was 
done,  and  collections  were  printed  and  written,  of  which 
very  little  is  known.  I  have  gone  over  the  same 
ground  myself  once  more  with  able  assistants,  and  I 
have  gone  through  great  part  of  the  work  of  my  prede- 
cessors, and  I  will  endeavour  to  give  the  result  as 
briefly  as  I  can. 

It  has  been  proved  that  there  were  old  Gaelic  tra- 


I04  OSSIAN PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE. 

ditional  poems,  collectors  of  them,  and  men  who  made 
English  paraphrases  from  them  under  the  name  of 
translations,  long  "before  MacPherson's  time ;  and  he, 
according  to  the  evidence  in  the  report  of  1805,  spoke 
with  men  who  had  written  collections.  The  affidavit 
of  Archibald  Fletcher,  January  1801,  No.  xvi.  of  the 
Appendix,  gives  a  list  of  poems  collected  by  Fletcher 
himself,  filling  194  pages,  and  deposited  with  the 
Society  ;  and  he  names  men  with  whom  MacPherson 
spoke,  and  who  knew  such  poems. 

"No.  xv.  of  the  same  Appendix  gives  70  pages  of 
comparisons  between  manuscripts  in  the  possession  of 
the  Society  and  MacPherson's  translation  of  Fingal ; 
and  these  prove  to  demonstration  that  the  poem  in 
some  form  was  known  to  the  people,  and  that  the  pub- 
lished poem  is  not  the  popular  version,  though  like  it. 

Captain  Morrison's  evidence,  No.  xiil,  is  con- 
clusive on  this  point,  and  proves  that  MacPherson  had 
in  his  possession  a  great  many  such  poems  orally  col- 
lected in  Scotland,  and  that  they  appear  in  his  English 
works. 

Kennedy  gives  a  list  of  seventeen  persons  from 
whose  dictation  he  procured  Gaelic  poems,  which  he 
sold  to  the  Highland  Society,  and  which  he  collected 
between  1774  and  1783.  It  is  therefore  beyond  all 
dispute  that  there  were  traditional  poems  in  plenty, 
written  and  unwritten,  attributed  to  Oisein,  current 
in  the  Highlands,  and  accessible  to  MacPherson ; 
many  of  which  can  still  be  traced  in  "  Ossian." 

The  letters  of  Mr.  Andrew  Gallie,  published  by  the 
committee,  and  dated  Kincardine,  March  12,  1779, 


OSSIAN PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE.  IO5 

and  March  4,  1801,  shew  that  MacPherson  had  old 
authorities  also,  and  had  little  respect  for  them.  The 
letters  raise  the  curtain,  and  shew  the  "  translator  "  at 
his  work  so  vividly,  that  I  give  the  following  quo- 
tations : — "  I  remember  Mr.  MacPherson  reading  the 
MS.  found  in  Clanronald's  (which  was  illuminated,  and 
therefore  old,  and  which  is  believed  to  be  somewhere 
in  Edinburgh  now),  execrating  the  bard  who  dictated 
to  the  amanuensis,  saying,  d — n  the  scoundrel,  it  is  he 
himself  that  now  speaks,  and  not  Ossian."  This  took 
place  in  my  house  in  two  or  three  instances. 

He  goes  on  to  say  that  it  is  well  known  that  the 
poems  as  handed  down  got  corrupted,  and  suggests 
that  MacPherson  had  suppressed  his  old  MSS.,  and  he 
concludes  thus — "  I  think  great  credit  is  due  in  such 
a  case,  to  him  who  restores  a  work  of  merit  to  its  ori- 
ginal  purity." 

That  is,  great  credit  is  due  to  MacPherson  for  dis- 
tinguishing the  work  of  a  man  who  composed  in  the 
third  century  from  all  intervening  additions  and  alter- 
ations ;  and  certainly  great  credit  would  be  due  to  the 
workman  if  such  work  could  be  done. 

In  1799,  Mrs.  Gallie  confirms  her  husband's  state- 
ment, saying — "  Not  any  one  thing  is  more  in  my  re- 
membrance than  seeing  with  Mr.  MacPherson,  when 
he  returned  from  his  tour,  the  Gaelic  MSS.  as  de- 
scribed by  my  husband  ;  I  remember  Mr.  MacPherson 
most  busy  at  the  translation,  and  he  and  Mr.  Gallie 
differing  as  to  the  meaning  of  some  Gaelic  words,"  etc. 

When  such  were  the  prevailing  notions  about 
"  translating,"  what  becomes  of  authenticity  ] 


106  OSSIAN PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE. 

The  report  also  gives  a  short  history  of  Mac- 
Pherson's  start,  and  the  evidence  of  those  who 
placed  him  before  the  public,  and  it  is  not  without 
interest. 

MacPberson's  first  publication*  was  made  at  the 
suggestion  of  Dr.  Hugh  Blair,  who  published  the 
work,  wrote  the  preface,  eight  pages,  and  suggested 
a  mission  to  the  Highlands  to  collect  more.  The 
fragments  are  believed  to  be  perfectly  genuine, 
though  very  free  translations,  and  include  a  bit 
of  FingaL  The  fight  is  about  the  next  and  follow- 
ing publications ;  and  the  evidence  given  by  the 
men  who  set  MacPherson  to  work  is  so  strongly  in 
favour  of  their  general  authenticity,  so  far  as  Mac- 
Pherson is  concerned,  that  it  is  hard  to  believe  him  to 
have  been  a  mere  forger ;  he  must  have  had  something 
more  than  we  now  know  anything  about.  Dr.  Blair 
saw  his  papers ;  Professor  Adam  Fergusson,  who  un- 
derstood Gaelic,  looked  at  them  and  compared  them 
with  the  translations  as  they  were  made ;  and  these 
appeared  to  be  exact  and  faithful  in  any  parts  which 
were  so  read  and  compared.  When  this  work  was 
done,  MacPherson  went  to  London  and  published  it ; 
it  was  famous  from  the  beginning,  and  soon  after  the 
grand  battle  began.  It  was  a  battle  of  giants,  in 
which  the  turly  figure  of  Johnson  stalks  in  the  first 
rank,  with  his  shadow  Boswell  at  his  heels.     David 

•  Now  a  rare  book,  "  Fragments  of  ancient  Poetry,"  collected 
in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  translated  from  the  Gaelic  or 
Erse  language.  Edinburgh:  Printed  for  G.  Hamilton  and  J. 
Balfour,  mdcclx.,  70  pages. 


OSSIAN PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE.  IO7 

Hume,  "  Burke,  a  very  ingenious  Irish  gentleman, 
the  author  of  a  tract  on  the  Sublime  and  Beautiful," 
who  told  Hume  that  he  had  "  heard  his  countrymen 
cry  out  as  soon  as  MacPherson's  hook  was  published — 
we  know  all  these  poems  ;  we  have  always  heard  them 
from  our  infancy ;  but  who,  on  particular  inquiry, 
"  could  never  learn  that  any  one  had  ever  heard,  or 
could  repeat  the  original  of  any  one  paragraph  of  the 
pretended  translation."  John  Home,  Mackenzie, 
Laing,  and  nearly  every  man  of  mark  of  that  time, 
down  to  Humboldt  and  Lamartine  of  our  own  times, 
have  all  held  opinions  one  way  or  the  other,  but  the 
facts  are  the  most  important. 

Dr.  Blair,  in  his  letter,  describes  MacPherson  as 
irritable,  obstinate,  and  anrontable ;  he  avows  the  pro- 
bability of  a  combination  of  several  pieces,  the  omis- 
sion of  some  parts,  and  the  insertion  of  others,  which 
MacPherson  did  not  then  deny.  In  December  1797, 
Dr.  Blair  wrote — "  That  his  work  as  it  stands,  exhibits 
a  genuine  authentic  view  of  ancient  Gaelic  poetry,  I 
am  as  firmly  persuaded  as  I  can  be  of  anything."  The 
letter,  which  is  too  long  for  quotation,  seems  to  esta- 
blish beyond  cavil,  that  the  Gaelic  was  written  before 
the  English,  and  that  the  published  English  was  a  fair 
representation  of  the  Gaelic  as  collected  and  brought 
to  Edinburgh  in  1761. 

Dr.  Adam  Fergusson,  in  1798,  writes — "The 
fragments  I  afterwards  saw  in  Mr.  MacPherson's 
hands,  by  no  means  appeared  of  recent  writing ;  the 
paper  was  much  stained  with  smoke,  and  daubed  with 
Scots  snuff  j"    and  the  Doctor  had  himself  in  his 


I08  OSSIÀN PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE. 

youth,  heard  poems  repeated  by  an  old  tailor,  of  which 
he  quotes  two  lines,  which,  though  strangely  spelt,  are 
versions  of  two  lines  in  "  FingaL" 

The  Eev.  Dr.  Carlyle,  the  same  whose  memoirs 
have  lately  been  published,  who  was  at  Prestonpans  as 
a  young  man,  and  lived  far  on  into  this  century,  gives 
his  account  of  the  first  starting  of  MacPherson,  in 
which  he  had  a  large  share,  and  of  his  intimacy  with 
him  in  London  in  1769  and  1770,  when  he  saw  him 
daily  and  lived  in  intimacy  with  him ;  and  when  he 
never  was  able  to  discover  that  he  was  any  other  than 
the  translator. 

And  Mr.  Home  states  that  MacPherson  was  an 
exceedingly  good  classical  scholar  ;  that  he  himself,  in 
1758  or  1759,  met  him  with  his  pupil  (Graham  of 
Balgowan,  afterwards  Lord  Lynedoch)  at  Moffat ;  that 
he  had  heard  from  Dr.  Fergusson,  who  understood 
Gaelic,  that  there  were  remains  of  ancient  Gaelic 
poetry  in  the  Highlands,  particularly  one  which  he  had 
himself  heard  repeated,  and  thought  very  beautiful. 
That  he  questioned  MacPherson  concerning  this  ancient 
Gaelic  poetry,  found  that  he  had  some  pieces  written 
down,  and  persuaded  him  to  translate  one — "  the  poem 
on  the  death  of  Oscar," — which  he  brought  in  a  day  or 
two.  In  a  few  days  he  brought  two  or  three  more, 
which  Home  took  to  Edinburgh  and  shewed  to  Drs. 
Blair,  Fergusson,  and  Bobertson,  and  to  Lord  Elibank ; 
and  he  subsequently,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  carried 
them  to  London,  and  they  were  admired  everywhere. 
Thus,  in  October  1759,  and  in  a  few  days,  MacPherson 
must  have  composed  a  great  English  work,  if  he  was 


OSSIAN PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE.  1 09 

the  author  of  "  The  Fragments."  A  bit  of  his  own 
original  English  composition  may  help  to  form  an 
opinion  of  his  merits  as  an  original  English  writer — 

"  Oh  discord  !  gnashing  fury !  rav'nous  fiend  ! 
Hell's  sharpest  torment !  nauseous  qualm  of  life, 
You  bathe  the  poniard  oft  in  friendship's  breast : 
Peace,  virtue,  friendship,  harmony,  and  love, 
Delightful  train  of  graces  shrink  from  thee." 

And  so  on. 

Another  publication  gives  some  measure  of  his 
knowledge  of  the  Gaelic  language.  In  1771  he  pub- 
lished, at  Dublin,  an  introduction  to  the  history  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  at  pp.  176-177,  he 
quotes  eleven  lines  of  Gaelic  and  gives  a  translation. 
The  poem  is  said  to  be  older  than  Christianity,  but  it 
is  not  said  where  it  was  got.  If  he  wrote  it  himself, 
of  course  he  knew  what  he  meant ;  but  in  any  case  he 
seems  to  have  made  a  mistake,  whereon  he  founded  a 
theory,  and  this  was  eleven  years  after  the  poems  ap- 
peared. 

The  Gaelic  given  is — 

Marsin  air  Ton  frioghach  fa  noir, 
Nuar  Shuanas  Grian-aise  na  nial  fein, 
Thic  reoda  air  itta  gu  tean, 
'Sè  spairn  'Sè  sguarta  gu  geur. 

It  seems  to  mean — 

Thus  on  bristling  wanton  wave, 

When  sleeps  "  Grian-Aise  "  in  Tier  own  cloud, 


IIO  OS8IAN — PUBLISHED  EVIDENCES. 

Comes  ice  upon  feather,  tightly  (or  wing,  or  fin,  or 

down  1  spray), 
And  he  striving  and  keenly  splashing  (or  roaring). 

MacPherson  translates  it — 

"  Thus  hovering  over  the  bleak  waves  in  the  North, 
When  Grian-Ais  sleeps,  wrapt  in  his  cloud, 
A  sudden  frost  comes  on  all  his  wings — 
He  struggles,  he  loudly  roars." 

There  are  no  words  for  "hovering,"  "wrapped," 
u  sudden,"  or  "  all;"  and  ton  is  singular.  It  is  not  the 
sun  who  is  frozen,  but  the  wave,  for  Grian  is  feminine ; 
but  MacPherson  argues  that  this  sun,  who  could  not 
resist  a  frosty  evening  but  had  his  wings  frozen,  could 
not  have  been  a  Celtic  god.  But  if  the  poet  meant  a 
wave,  the  argument  is  bad ;  and  if  he  was  MacPherson, 
and  meant  the  sun,  the  Gaelic  is  not  a  good  translation 
of  the  English,  and  it  becomes  highly  improbable  that 
MacPherson  was  capable  of  imagining  the  English  Ossian, 
or  turning  it  into  the  Gaelic  of  1807.     So  it  is  argued. 

But  direct  evidence  is  better  than  argument. 

Mr.  Home  goes  on  to  say,  that  "in  travelling 
through  the  Highlands  "  (which  he  did  with  MacPherson), 
he  has  met  with  several  common  people  who  repeated 
to  him  many  hundred  lines  of  the  rhymes,  as  they 
called  them.  Mr.  Home  having  usually  with  him  one 
or  more  who  understood  the  Gaelic  language,  made  the 
rhymes  be  repeated  again,  which  the  person  who  under- 
stood both  languages  translated,  so  as  to  leave  no  room 


OSSIAN PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE.  Ill 

to  doubt  that  the  tales  and  songs  sang  by  the  boatmen 
and  herds  in  the  Highlands  are  the  poems  of  Ossian." 

But  the  question  is,  were  these  the  Gaelic  poems  of 
1807  Ì  and  of  that  Mr.  Home  could  not  judge.  Having 
read  one  "  translation  "  he  heard  another  like  it ;  but 
he  should  have  had  the  written  Gaelic,  and  some  one  to 
compare  it  with  the  Gaelic  which  he  heard ;  and  so 
far  as  I  can  find  out,  no  one  ever  thought  of  trying 
that  simple  experiment  on  the  street  porters  of  Edin- 
burgh, who  are  men  of  the  class  described,  and  could 
solve  the  problem.  But  four  of  the  gentlemen  who 
started,  MacPherson  give  valid  reasons  for  their  belief 
in  the  genuineness  of  the  Gaelic  materials  collected  by 
him,  and  in  the  general  correctness  of  the  translations  ; 
while  they  admit  that  which  no  reasonable  man  can 
now  doubt,  that  he  worked  up  these  materials,  and 
that  the  long  poems  never  existed  in  the  form  which 
they  now  bear,  before  MacPherson's  time.  They  held 
that  Gaelic  for  nearly  the  whole  of  the  translations 
had  existed  as  detached  fragments  well  known,  and 
constantly  repeated  in  the  Highlands;  but  they  did 
not  maintain  that  "  Fingal "  and  "  Temora  "  ever  had 
been  repeated  from  beginning  to  end. 

The  report  of  the  whole  committee  was  in  accordance 
with  this  evidence — 1st,  That  there  had  existed  an 
abundance  of  impressive,  striking,  eloquent,  tender,  and 
sublime  Gaelic  poetry. 

2d,  That  the  translations  often  contained  the  sub- 
stance, and  sometimes  almost  the  literal  expression  of 
passages  in  poems,  and  fragments  of  poems,  which 
the  committee  had  been  able  to  procure ;  but  they 


112  OSSIAN PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE. 

had  not  been  able  to  obtain  one  poem  the  same  in 
title  and  tenor  with  the  poems  as  published.  They 
believed  that  they  had  begun  too  late  ;  that  Mac- 
Pherson  had  far  better  opportunities  of  collecting  and 
collating,  and  rejecting,  and  putting  together  "what 
might  fairly  enough  be  called  an  original  whole." 
They  point  out  modernisms  in  the  later  publications, 
such  as  Temora,  and  generally  the  committee  having 
good  opportunities,  made  a  report,  which  seems  to 
settle  the  question,  as  well  as  such  a  question  could  be 
settled. 

But  while  all  this  argument  and  criticism  and  paper 
war  was  disturbing  the  non-Gaelic  world,  the  High- 
landers of  the  poorer  class  knew  very  little  about  the 
fight,  and  went  on  singing  their  own  ballads,  though 
people  who  sought  for  old  poetry  after  MacPherson 
had  set  the  world  by  the  ears,  found  no  epics. 

It  is  useless  to  argue  that  the  Highlands  changed 
after  the  battle  of  Culloden.  It  is  true  that  whole 
clans  have  been  displaced  since  then,  and  that  the 
whole  population  of  Great  Britain  is  now  rapidly 
assimilating  ;  but  I  have  spoken  with  men  who  remem- 
bered "  the  forty-five,"  and  with  one  who  had  not  left 
his  native  island  during  his  life,  108  years.  Men  and 
women  of  seventy  and  eighty  are  to  bo  found  all  over 
the  Highlands,  and  many  of  these  trace  their  descent 
for  many  generations,  and  occupy  the  old  holdings  of 
their  ancestors.  From  such  people,  traditions  can  now 
be  got,  and  they  were  got  before,  and  almost  immedi- 
ately after  MacPherson's  first  publication,  and  they 
were  and  are  nearly  the  same  stilL     I  have  already 


OSSIAN—  PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE.  1 1 3 

mentioned  Stone,  Farquharson,  Pope,  Kennedy,  Fletcher, 
"Hill,  etc.,  as  collectors ;  they  found  ballads,  but 
"Ossian"  is  a  collection  of  epics ;  and  they  found 
none. 

The  Gaelic  of  Ossian  was  published  from  a  manu.    1807. 
script  of  MacPherson's ;  an  edition  was  subsequently 
distributed  gratis,  in  1818. 

The  Gaelic  Society  of  Dublin,  established  for  the  18O8. 
investigation  and  revival  of  ancient  Irish  literature, 
published  a  volume  which  contains,  amongst  other 
matter,  a  story  from  the  Irish,  which  is  said  to  be 
"  the  foundation  of  Mr.  James  MacPherson's  Dar- 
thula."  It  is  the  story  of  "  Deirdri?  and  the  sons  of 
"  Usnach,"  partly  taken  from  Keating.  In  this  oc- 
curs the  following  passage  : — 

"  It  happened  then  on  a  snowy  day  that  her  tutor  killed  a 
calf  to  prepare  food  for  her ;  and  on  his  spilling  the  calf  s  blood  in 
the  snow,  a  raven  came  to  drink  of  it ;  and  as  Deirdri  noticed  this, 
she  said  to  Lavarcam  (her  nurse  chatter-awry),  that  she  would  be 
glad  herself  to  have  a  husband  possessed  of  the  three  colours  which 
she  saw  ;  that  is,  his  hair  of  the  colour  of  the  raven,  his  cheek  of 
the  colour  of  the  calf  8  blood,  and  his  skin  of  the  colour  of  the 
snow.  '  There  is  such  a  man,  named  Naisi,  son  of  Usnach,  of 
Conor's  household/  said  Lavarcam."    (See  vol.  iii.,  200.) 

This  incident  seems  to  belong  to  the  whole  Celtic 
race.  The  story  is  followed  by  a  version  of  the  poem, 
with  a  translation,  mixed  with  a  prose  story,  which,  as 
is  usual  in  Gaelic  recitations,  helps  out  the  poem. 
Most  of  the  places  named  in  the  poem  are  in  Argyle- 
shire  :  Vale  of  Masan,  Vale  of  Urchay,  Vale  of  Eiti, 
Glenn  dà  Kuadh,  translated  "  vale  of  the  two  roes;" 
vol.  rv.  1 


114  OSSIAN — PUBUBHBD  EVIDENCE. 

Innis  in  Droighin,  translated,  "dear  is  Drayno,"  etc. 
The  scene  of  the  prose  story  is  generally  in  Ireland,  but 
nearly  all  the  poetry  relates  to  Scotland.  The  editor 
says  that  the  tragic  tale  has  been  written  since  the 
sixth  century,  and  if  so,  it  is  no  wonder  that  it  should 
be  known  both  in  Ireland  and  in  Scotland  in  various 
shapes.  This  Irish  version  makes  the  children  of 
Usnoth  cousins  of  Cuchullin;  MacPherson  made  them 
his  nephews.  The  Irish  story  make  them  Ultonian 
nobles,  "  reared  with  Aifi  in  the  military  school  of 
Skye,"  "where  Cuchullin  was  also  educated."  The 
volume  also  includes  an  historic  tale  of  the  sons  of 
Usnoth  ;  a  song  to  the  blackbird ;  a  hymn  of  Colum- 
cille ;  and  a  version  of  the  ballad  of  Talc,  the  son  o^ 
Trone,  which  is  like  "  Fainesolis."  The  editor  says, 
with  reference  to  Irish  Fenian  poems  and  stories 
(page  211): — 

"  With  every  one  of  these,  and  all  other  stories  in  the  Irish 
language,  Mr.  MacPherson  appears  to  have  been  perfectly  con- 
versant ;  nor  has  he  omitted  one  of  their  beautiful  expressions 
or  interesting  episodes.  In  the  execution  of  his  scheme,  how- 
ever, he  has  been  totally  regardless  of  epochs,  and  with  fastidious 
insolence  he  rejects  the  very  sources  of  his  reputation." 

This  is  surely  strong  testimony  in  favour  of  the 
general  authenticity  of  MacPherson's  publication,  from 
so  keen  an  adversary  and  so  good  a  scholar  as  the  edi- 
tor of  this  volume. 

The  Gaelic  of  1807  he  condemns  ;  he  points  out 
the  Irish  metre,  of  which  he  says  it  is  a  bad  imitation ; 
and  asserts  that  "  Mr.  MacFarlan"  was  a  very  incorrect 
Gaelic  pretender,  who  did  not  know  the  original  Irish, 


OSSIAN — PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE.  1 1  5 

which  MacPherson  knew  well,  and  so  erred  "  in  "base 
modern  corrupt  Erse." 

One  Irish  line  mentioned,  means — 

"  My  heart  leaping  as  a  blackbird." 

MacPherson  gave  it  "  pathetic  expression,"  thus — 

"  The  heart  of  the  aged  beats  over  thee." 

Temora  has  it,  as — 

"  Tha  cridhe  na  h'  aoise  fo  spairn." 
The  heart  of  age  is  under  woe. 

And  this  is  said  to  be  what  "  Mr.  Macfarlan  aped  to 
translate  in  his  corrupt  irregular  dialect." 

To  me  it  seems  that  this  publication  tells  very 
strongly  for  the  general  authenticity  of  MacPherson's 
Ossian.  If  it  be  true  that  he  lived  for  some  years  in 
the  county  of  Limerick,  with  a  cousin  who  kept  a 
school  there  ;  and  if  he  told  the  Bishop  of  Limerick 
that  "  Fingal  was  an  original,  but  that  the  characters 
were  Irish ;"  it  surely  is  not  advancing  Gaelic  litera- 
ture to  abuse  the  man  who  rescued  it  from  obscurity. 

Turners  collection  contains,  amongst  a  number  of    isis. 
songs,  the  "  Lay  of  the  Great  Fool,"  of  which  a  tradi- 
tional version  is  given  at  page  154,  voL  iii     The  last 
is  much  longer. 

A  version  was  printed  in  Glasgow  in  1800,  in  a 
collection  without  a  name,  12mo,  12  pages,  price  two- 
pence. I  have  not  seen  it,  but  it  is  mentioned  by 
"  Keid." 

In  the    6th  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the 


1816. 


1 1 6  OSSIAN — PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE. 

Ossianic  Society  of  Dublin  for  1858,  published  No- 
vember 1861,  there  is  a  version  of  the  same  poem, 
158  quatrains.  On  applying  to  Mr.  O'Daly,  the 
secretary  to  the  society,  I  learn  that  this  is  taken  from 
a  manuscript  made  in  Kilrush,  county  Clare,  by  a 
blacksmith  named  Martin  Griffin,  in  1844  ;  that  the 
poem  is  very  popular  in  Ireland,  and  that  there  are 
older  versons  in  the  library  of  the  Eoyal  Irish  Aca- 
demy, as  the  secretary  remembers  to  have  seen  a  copy 
there  made  in  1737.  Mr.  O'Daly  thinks  that  it 
must  be  a  Leinster  composition,  because  of  the  loca- 
lities named  ;  I  cannot  see  the  force  of  this  argument, 
for  it  would  make  "  Hamlet"  a  Danish  composition, 
and  "  Macbeth"  a  Scotch  one.  I  can  only  say  that  it 
proves  the  poem  to  be  old,  Gaelic,  and  genuine,  to  find 
it  current  from  Stornoway,  Gairloch,  and  Glasgow,  to 
Kilrush  and  Dublin,  amongst  paupers,  cottars,  and 
blacksmiths,  in  Scotland  and  Ireland ;  and  it  seems 
to  make  the  Scotch  and  Irish  quarrel  about  old  ballads 
which  belong  to  both  sufficiently  absurd. 

The  Irish  version,  Turner's,  and  mine,  all  vary  from 
each  other ;  but  they  were  evidently  the  same  compo- 
sition at  ^some  period ;  I  have  much  which  the  long 
Irish  version  has  not ;  and  it  has  a  great  deal  which  is 
not  in  my  version  or  in  Turner's.  There  is  an  episode 
and  a  sequel,  and  it  looks  more  like  a  fragment  of  a 
popular  romance  made  up  from  ballads. 

MacCallum  published  a  collection  made  through 
ministers  and  others,  all  of  whom  gave  their  names, 
which  are  published.  If  the  people  were  apt  to  learn, 
MacCallum  would  surely  now  have  found  them  repeat- 


OSSIAN — PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE.  1 1  7 

ing  the  poems  of  1807 ;  but  the  people  are  only  sturdy 
to  retain  what  they  have  learned  from  their  fathers,  or 
what  suits  their  every  day  life ;  and  MacCallum  again 
found  and  published  versions  of  old  poems  which  had 
been  printed  in  1804  and  1786,  which  are  in  MSS.  of 
1530,  and  are  still  recited  in  1860,  chiefly  in  the 
Islands,  poems  which  are  not  those  of  MacPherson  or 
Dr.  Smith,  but  which  can  be  traced  in  their  Gaelic 
publications,  and  form  their  groundwork 

It  is  proved,  then,  that  before  1760,  when  Mac- 
Pherson made  his  tour,  there  were  plenty  of  manuscript 
and  traditional  poems  current  in  the  Highlands,  and  that 
he  collected  and  used  them;  Mrs.  Gallie,  Lord  Lynedoch, 
Dr.  Fergusson,  and  others  saw  him  engaged  upon  these 
materials,  and  he  had  no  respect  for  his  authorities,  new 
or  old.  When  he  died,  none  of  these  materials  were 
forthcoming  ;  but  those  who  know  anything  of  Gaelic, 
know  what  some  of  them  must  have  been.  The  Irish 
writer,  to  whom  I  have  referred  above,  quotes  an  essay  by 
O'Beilly,  in  which  the  "  Irish  poems"  are  named,  from 
which  "  MacPherson  stole  his  materials  for  Ossian." 

"  Carthon  "  is  founded  on  the  Lay  of  '•  Conlaoch ; "  his  Fingal 
is  partly  taken  from  "the  Lay  of  Magnus  the  Great ;''  his 
Episode  of  "  Borbar  and  Fainasollis,"  in  the  third  hook  of  his 
Fingal,  is  taken  from  "  Moira  Borb."  (Why  not  "  Talc  Mac- 
Trone  f  ") 

«•  The  fourth  book  of  Fingal "  is  founded  on  the  "  War  ode  of 
Goll."  The  combat  between  "  Osgar  and  Iollan  "  seems  to  be 
a  bad  imitation  of  "  Moira  Borb."  "  The  death  of  the  children 
of  Usnagh  "  is  the  poem  on  which  he  framed  his  "  Darthula." 

The  original  of  "  the  Battle  of  Lara  "  is  not  given  by  the 
Gaelic  Society  in  their  printed  Gaelic  originals ;  but  a  poem  in 


I  1 8  08SIAN— PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE. 

Gillies's  collection  of  Gaelic  poems,  printed  at  Perth  in  1786,  called 
"  Erragon,"  is  the  poem  on  which  the  Battle  of  Lara  is  founded. 
(224.)  «•  The  death  of  Osgar,"  in  "  the  first  hook  of  Temora," 
is  grounded  on  "  the  Battle  of  Gaura,"  and  many  passages  of  it 
are  indeed  literally  translated.  But  great  liberties,  as  usual,  have 
been  taken  with  "  the  original ; "  and  the  writer  again  refers  to 
"  p.  313  of  the  Perth  edition." 

But  this  "  Perth  edition "  is  Gillies',  published  in 
1786,  before  Miss  Brookes'  work,  and  purports  to  be  a 
collection,  not  of  Irish  poems,  but  of  poems  collected  by- 
gentlemen  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland;  one  of  whom, 
Sir  James  FouHs  of  Colinton,  Bart.,  procured  and  care- 
fully revised  many  of  them ;  so  Gillies  lands  us  in  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland  once  more,  and  it  is  rather  cool 
to  quote  him  as  an  Irish  authority,  and  ignore  the  collec- 
tions of  the  Highland  Society  altogether.  The  book  is 
now  very  rare;  there  is  a  copy  in  the  Advocates'  Library, 
but  none  in  the  British  Museum.  I  have  seen  but  two 
other  imperfect  copies,  and  never  heard  of  it  till  1861. 
When  I  read  it  first,  I  thought  that  my  peasant  re- 
citers must  have  learned  from  the  book,  for  it  seemed 
to  contain  the  very  ballads  which  had  come  to  me ; 
but  on  looking  closer  at  it,  I  was  satisfied  that  tradi- 
tion had  borrowed  nothing  from  this  rare  book,  for 
there  are  endless  variations.  My  collectors  I  can  trust, 
and  they  are  satisfied  that  Gillies'  was  taken  from  tra- 
dition, and  that  the  book  is  unknown  to  the  men  who 
recited  poems  which  they  wrote.  On  procuring  a  very 
dirty,  torn,  thumbed  copy  from  Glasgow,  with  many 
names  scribbled  over  it,  and  a  perfume  of  fragrant 
peat  emanating  from  every  page,  I  set  myself  to  con- 


OSSIAN PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE.  1 1 9 

sider  whether  dirt  might  not  be  an  index  to  the  modern 
reader's  taste ;  and  by  sight  and  smell  it  soon  appeared 
that  the  heroic  age  had  pasaed  from  the  Firth  of  Clyde, 
where  I  had  found  none  of  the  old  poems.  Most  of 
the  names  and  occupations  of  the  former  owners  savour 
of  ships  and  Argyleshire  lochs,  of  a  life  of  industry, 
trade,  and  commerce,  salt  herrings,  revenue  laws, 
peace  and  plenty.  The  poetry  which  had  delighted 
such  men  was  not  "The  death  of  Osgar,"  which  is 
still  commonly  sung  in  Uist  and  Barra,  and  used  to 
be  sung  about  Lochawe ;  and  was  sung  in  Lome  about 
the  time  that  John  Gorm  was  roasted,  and  which  is  the 
ground- work  of  Temora  ;  that  is  nearly  clean.  Mor- 
dubh,  the  big  black  sentimental  warrior,  is  nearly 
white,  and  so  are  most  of  the  heroic  pieces  which  treat 
of  wars  of  the  Lochlaners  and  the  Feine  ;  those  which 
are  old,  and  speak  of  a  past  age,  and  are  claimed  for 
Ireland.  But  "  Braigh  Loch  Iall,"  a  love  song  with 
a  capital  chorus,  is  nearly  worn  out ;  so  is  "  The  praise 
of  a  young  man  to  his  sweetheart ; "  and  most  of  the  love 
songs  are  in  bad  case ;  so  is  a  lamentable  ditty  about 
an  old  deer  hunter  of  "  Adhoil,"  who  used  a  gun ;  and 
one  about  a  gentleman  who  was  drowned.  "  Iseabail 
nic  Aoidh,"  Isobel  Mackay,  milking  the  kye  all  alone, 
whom  I  have  known  all  my  life,  is  as  black  as  the 
Hottentot  Venus,  and  fairly  torn  to  shreds  by  her  nu- 
merous admirers.  In  short,  it  seemed  that  those  who 
had  read  the  book  did  not  cultivate  the  class  of  poetry 
which  prevails  amongst  the  poorest  class  who  -cannot 
read  at  all,  who  recite  these  poems,  and  trace  them  to 
their  ancestors,  and  believe  in  them.     It  seems  that 


1 2  O  OSSIAN PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE. 

the  thoughts  of  men  of  work  and  action,  and  some 
education,  are  of  the  present  rather  than  the  past ;  and 
that  the  heroic  age  is  rapidly  fading  from  the  minds  of 
people  who  rub  shoulders  with  the  rest  of  the  world. 

The  copy  in  the  Advocates'  Library  looks  as  if  it 
never  had  been  read  at  all  The  copy  of  Ossian,  pre- 
sented to  the  parish  of  Dunoon,  is  almost  perfectly 
clean  ;  I  firmly  believe  that  it  never  had  been  read 
till  it  was  put  into  the  hands  of  an  old  shoemaker 
friend  of  mine  to  extract  his  opinion  of  the  work. 

How  strange  it  is  that  poetry,  which  certainly  is 
the  germ  of  that  Ossian  which  is  still  admired  in 
palaces,  should  still  be  the  fireside  pastime  of  men 
described  as  savages,  burrowing  in  middens,  and  fur- 
nishing good  specimens  of  the  "  ape  idiot ; n  while  a 
"  thriving  peasantry"  gets  decorously  drunk  in  its  fine 
new  house,  anjl  has  no  taste  for  pastimes  which  the 
palace  and  the  hovel  share,  and  utilitarians  despise. 

It  seemed  then  that  I  might  safely  take  Gillies  as 
a  standard  to  which  to  refer  anything  I  might  pick  up 
from  the  people,  or  find  in  other  books,  and  it  seems 
evident  that  there  are  several  different  epochs  of  wholly 
distinct  poetry  there  represented. 

1st,  Poems  which  might  be  divided  into  stanzas  of 
four  lines  each,  and  which  are  so  divided  generally;  which 
in  spirit,  in  incident,  in  names,  in  rhythm,  and  in  every 
respect  resemble  one  another,  and  often  refer  to  each 
other ;  many  which  are  still  recited  and  sung  by  the 
people, in  the  remoter  districts  of  the  Highlands. 

These  are  always  attributed  to  Oisein  by  the 
people  now ;  and  Oisein  generally  appears  as  an  actor 


OSSIAN — PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE.  121 

in  the  incidents  described.  They  relate  to  the  wars  of 
Lochlann  and  Eirinn.  They  are  simple;  they  are 
like  stories  versified;  there  is  no  mention  of  Morven ; 
Fingal  is  not  once  named  ;  but  Fionn,  and  the  rest  of 
his  family  and  friends,  are  the  heroes  of  nearly  all  these 
poems,  and  they  invariably  bear  the  characters  now 
attributed  to  them  by  the  people  in  the  prose  tales  and 
traditions  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  so  far  as  I  know 
them. 

These  I  believe  to  be  popular  ballads,  many  at 
least  as  old  as  1530,  probably  very  much  older,  and  to 
be  specimens  of  the  poetry  on  which  the  Gaelic  poems 
of  Ossian  were  founded. 

Fionn  and  Manus  of  Norway  fight  a  battle  in 
one  of  these ;  and  it  is  worth  considering  whether 
the  events  can  be  reconciled  with  Norse  history,  and 
whether  the  real  composer's  date  cannot  thus  be  ascer- 
tained. 

2d,  There  are  comparatively  modern  poems  by 
known  authors,  which  differ  from  the  first  in  every 
particular. 

They  are  on  different  subjects,  in  different  metre, 
and  the  ideas  which  they  contain  are  those  of  a  wholly 
different  class  of  men ;  they  are  essentially  modern, 
though  some  are  as  early  as  Charles  the  Second. 

They  are  to  the  first  class  of  songs  what  "  The  last 
Eose  of  Summer "  is  to  "  Sir  Lancelot,"  modern  poetry 
to  an  old  ballad. 

3d,  There  are  two  specimens  of  compositions  which 
resemble  in  some  degree  the  Ossian  best  known  to  the 
world. 


122  OSSIAN PUBLISHED  EVIDENCE. 

These  are  to  the  ballads  what  Thomson's  "  Seasons  " 
are  to  "Chevy  Chase;"  they  seem  to  me,  when  I 
read  them,  to  want  the  stamp  of  antiquity,  to  be 
more  polished,  to  be  poetry  of  a  different  class  and 
time. 

They  are  like  the  popular  ballads  in  incident,  and 
in  rhythm,  but  they  have  a  dash  of  sentimentalism 
about  them  which  seems  foreign  to  popular  taste. 
They  are  more  refined  and  less  quaint.  It  is  hard  to 
define  an  almost  instinctive  feeling,  but  the  poet  seems 
to  have  thought  in  English. 

These  I  take  to  be  more  modern,  but  still  old ; 
specimens  of  poems  such  as  MacPherson  might  have 
found  ready  made  to  his  hand,  by  some  previous 
educated  collector,  infected  with  the  vice  of  mending 
what  he  found.  One  of  these  is  the  "  Mordubh,"  above 
mentioned. 

Now,  the  average  length  of  these  pieces,  which  I 
believe  to  be  genuine  old  poetry,  all  of  which  were 
printed  twenty  years  before  the  Gaelic  of  Ossian,  is 
from  100  to  200  lines;  and  there  is  nothing  unreason- 
able in  supposing  that  such  compositions  have  been 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  learned 
by  sons  from  fathers,  gradually  altered,  and  so  pre- 
served. Gray's  Elegy  has  128  lines,  and  I  suppose 
there  are  thousands  in  England  who  can  repeat  it. 
"  John  Gilpin,"  "  My  name  is  Norval,"  and  scores  of 
other  pieces  might  be  taken  down  from  dictation  amongst 
certain  classes  of  the  community,  who  might  be  puzzled 
to  say  who  composed  them,  or  when;  and  if  all  books 
in  England  were  now  to  be  destroyed,  a  diligent  col- 


OSSIAX — POPULAR  BALLADS.  1 2  3 

lector  might  still  recover  whole  volumes  of  prose  and 
poetry  in  England.  I  know  English  students  who 
think  they  could  repeat  about  a  thousand  lines  of  various 
compositions ;  I  have  heard  of  one  who  repeated  a 
book  of  the  Georgics  under  the  influence  of  champaigns 
and  I  know  scraps  of  scores  of  songs  myself 

It  is  surely  not  too  much  to  assume  that  a  pea- 
santry who  have  few  books,  and  who  live  apart  from 
the  world,  a  people  who  have  been  famous  from  the 
dawn  of  history  for  rhymes,  should  have  preserved  a 
few  remnants  of  very  ancient  poetry  to  this  day. 


Popular  Ballads. 

It  may  be  well  here  to  attempt  a  definition  of  the 
word  "ballad."  I  understand  it  to  mean  a  bit  of  popular 
history,  or  a  popular  tale,  or  romance,  turned  into  verse, 
which  will  fit  some  popular  air.  It  is  not  something 
definite,  like  a  printed  song  by  a  known  author,  but 
something  which  is  continually  undergoing  change. 

Chevy  Chase  is  a  familiar  example  of  popular 
history  versified.  There  are  sixty-eight  stanzas  (gener- 
ally of  four  lines)  in  the  version  in  Percy's  Beliques, 
the  story  is  simply  told,  and  the  whole  is  exceedingly 
dramatic ;  there  is  not  a  bit  of  sentiment  or  natural 
history  in  it,  but  there  is  something  which  has  made  it 
popular  for  centuries.  Many  versions  of  the  ballad 
exist,  and  the  original  composer  is  unknown.  The 
battle  of  Otterbourne  is  another  example,  it  has  seventy 
stanzas  of  four  lines,  it  is  like  the  other,  and  it  has  a 


1 2  4  OSSIAN POPULAR  BALLADS. 

foundation  in  fact,  so  that  it  cannot  be  older  than  a 
certain  date. 

An  instance  of  a  popular  tale  versified  is  "  The 
Frolicksome  Duke,  or  the  Tinker's  Good  Fortune," 
(Percy's  Eeliques,  vol  i.,  255).  The  story  is  the  same 
as  that  of  "  The  Sleeper  awakened,"  told  in  the  Arabian 
Nights,  but  the  whole  machinery  of  the  English  ballad 
is  English,  not  Arabic. 

A  similar  instance  is  "The  Heir  of  Iinne,"  the 
groundwork  of  which  is  in  an  Eastern  tale,  though  the 
ballad  is  Scotch. 

Another  is  "  The  King  and  the  Miller  of  Mansfield." 
The  story  of  that  ballad  is  very  widely  spread.  Sir 
Walter  Scott  tells  it  as  Scotch  history  in  the  "  Tales  of 
a  Grandfather."  I  have  something  very  like  it  in 
Gaelic.  The  adventure  savours  of  Haroun  of  Easchid 
wandering  in  disguise,  and  Percy  gives  a  whole  list  of 
similar  songs  and  stories,  in  which  some  king  converses 
with  a  poor  man,  is  entertained  by  him,  and  afterwards 
discovers  his  rank,  and  rewards  his  entertainer.  The 
style  of  this  English  ballad  is  humorous,  rough,  and 
popular ;  its  length,  forty  stanzas,  is  not  such  as  to  make 
it  difficult  to  remember,  and  the  rhythm  is  that  of  a 
jolly  tune.  The  story  and  the  ballad  might  suit  the 
subjects  of  a  whole  dynasty  by  altering  a  few  words, 
and  a  few  changes  would  make  them  suit  any  place 
where  there  are  kings  and  countrymen. 

Thus  even  popular  history  has  a  vague  date,  but 
the  popular  tale  has  none. 

An  instance  of  a  popular  romance  in  the  form  of 
a  ballad  is  "  Sir  Lancelot,"  and  another  gives  the  story 


0SS1AN — POPULAR  BALLADS.  1 2  5 

of  "Morte  Arthur."  Another  old  ballad  contains  the 
whole  story  of  King  Lear  and  his  daughters,  and  there 
are  many  such.  A  good  example  of  the  changes  which 
ballads  undergo  is  to  be  found  in  the  versions  of  one 
which  is  still  current  in  Scotch  drawing-rooms. 

In  the  minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border  is  a  ballad 
whose  chorus  is — 

"  Binnorie,  o  Binnorie, 

By  the  bonny  mill  dams  o'  Binnorie." 

The  story  told  in  dialogue  is  that  of  two  sisters,  the 
eldest  of  whom,  in  a  fit  of  jealousy,  pushes  the  youngest 
into  a  river,  where  she  is  drowned.  All  versions  agree 
so  far,  and  their  metre  has  a  general  resemblance,  but 
the  details,  the  language,  the  tune,  and  the  metre,  vary 
according  to  the  district  where  the  ballad  is  found.  A 
version  is  given  in  u  The  scouring  of  the  White  Horse," 
and  is  essentially  English;  there  are  many  border 
versions,  and  a  Tweedside  antiquary  might  fairly  claim 
the  ballad,  but  another  old  version  has  the  chorus  of — 

"  Edinburgh,  Edinburgh, 
Stirling  for  aye, 
Bonny  St  Johnstone  stands  upon  Tay." 

Another  version  which  I  have  has  this  chorus — 
"  Oh  ochone,  ochone  a  rie, 
On  the  banks  of  the  Banna,  ochone  a  rie." 

Of  which  one  line  is  Gaelic.     Another  has — 

"  Bo  down,  bo  down, 
And  I'll  be  true  unto  my  love, 
If  he'll  be  true  unto  me." 


T  2  6  0S8IAN POPULAE  BALLADS. 

Miss  Brookes  transcribed  a  version  which  S.  C. 
Walker,  historian  of  the  Irish  hards,  sent  to  Sir  Walter 
Scott ;  the  chorus  is — 

"  Hey  ho  my  Nanny  o, 
While  the  swan  swims  bonny  o." 

And  the  lady  got  it  from  an  old  woman  who  sang  it 
from  memory.  Drawing-room  versions  now  current 
are  generally  traced  to  some  old  nurse,  who  sang  them  to 
the  young  ladies,  and  these  vary  more  than  some  Gaelic 
ballads  which  are  separated  from  each  other  by  centu- 
ries, and  about  which  Scotch  and  Irish  Gael  quarrel 
heartily. 

Some  verses  are  highly  poetical,  and  savour  of  an- 
tiquity, others  of  modern  times;  some  are  almost 
absurd. 

u  He  courted  the  eldest  wi*  brooch  and  wi'  knife, 
But  he  loved  the  youngest  as  his  life," 

is  pretty,  but  another  is  quaint— 

"  I  did  not  put  you  in  with  the  design, 
Just  for  to  pull  you  out  again." 

One  verse  is  picturesque,  and  another  is  almost 
ridiculous. 

"  They  could  na  see  her  yellow  hair, 
For  the  pearls  and  jewels  that  were  there." 


a 


Then  up  and  spake  her  ghaist  sae  green, 
Do  ye  no  ken  the  king's  daughter  Jean  V 


OSSIAN — POPULAR  BALLADS.  1 2  7 

In  another  version  it  was  no  ghost,  but  the  lady 
herself  who  spoke. 

"  Oh,  miller,  I'll  give  you  guineas  ten, 
If  you'll  send  me  back  to  my  father  again." 

"  The  miller  he  took  her  guineas  ten, 
And  then  he  popped  her  in  again." 

In  one  version,  a  harper  made  a  harp  of  the 
drowned  lady's  "  breast  bane,"  and  yellow  hair ;  and 
it  played  magic  tunes  ;  another  tells  us  that 

"  The  sister  she  sailed  over  the  sea, 
And  died  an  old  maid  of  a  hundred  and  three. 

The  lover  became  a  beggar  man, 
And  he  drank  out  of  a  rusty  tin  can." 

A  ballad  then  bears  the  stamp  of  originality,  and 
the  traces  of  many  minds  ;  it  may  be  of  generations  of 
singers  of  all  classes  of  society,  and  of  many  districts  ; 
it  may  even  be  found  in  several  different  dialects,  or 
even  languages,  and  yet  be  the  same  ballad  nevertheless. 
To  strike  out  any  bit  of  a  genuine  ballad  is  to  muti- 
late it ;  to  add  anything  to  it  is  to  disfigure  it ;  but  it 
is  quite  legitimate  to  fuse  as  many  versions  as  can  be 
got,  so  as  to  complete  the  story,  and  to  select  the  best 
of  several  lines,  if  the  fact  be  stated.  The  hanging  of 
the  miller,  for  instance,  is  a  new  incident,  and  should 
be  added ;  and  so  should  the  verse — 

"  The  miller's  daughter  was  at  the  door, 
As  sweet  as  any  gilly  flower." 


128  OSSIAN POPULAR  BALLADS. 

To  sift  out  all  the  pretty  bits  of  these  ballads,  strike 
out  all  that  is  quaint,  compose  a  lot  of  similar  poetry, 
and  then  attribute  the  whole  to  Thomas  the  Bhymour, 
would  not  be  fair  treatment  of  popular  ballads ;  and 
yet  something  of  the  kind  was  done  even  by  Percy  in 
his  Ealiques,  for  he  added  verses  of  his  own. 

An  event  or  incident  must  first  be  remembered  as 
a  tradition;  therefore  a  popular  tale  is  the  oldest  form. 
A  popular  ballad  which  can  easily  be  sung,  and  remem- 
bered, is  the  next  growth ;  and  a  romance  or  play, 
such  as  "  Morte  Arthur,"  "  King  Lear,"  "  Fingal,"  or 
the  "  Idyls  of  the  King,"  is  the  next  and  last. 

Besides  these  old  world  ballads  there  are  several 
other  classes  ;  sentimental  songs  which  have  no  story  ; 
political  ballads  which  are  forgotten  almost  as  soon  as 
made  ;  and  ballads  which  never  take  hold  of  the  popu- 
lar mind,  because  their  interest  is  local  or  temporary. 
Of  these  there  is  a  crop  every  year,  which  springs  up, 
and  dies,  like  the  undergrowth  of  flowers  and  grass, 
which  springs  up  and  decays  under  the  branches  of  an 
old  forest  or  a  young  plantation,  and  is  mingled  with 
its  withered  leaves. 


Current  Gaelic  Traditions — Ossian  and  Ballads. 

In  1859,  1860,  and  1861, 1  collected  Gaelic  stories 
and  latterly  such  ballads  as  came  in  my  way.  Mr. 
Hector  MacLean  searched  the  Islands  of  Islay,  North 
and  South  Uist,  Benbecula,  Barra,  Minglay,  Mull,  and 
other  places,  for  stories.     Mr.  Torrie,  a  native  of  Ben- 


OSSIAN  AND  BALLADS.  120, 

becula,  tried  some  of  the  outer  Hebrides  and  Skye. 
Mr.  Carmichael  visited  Lismore,  his  native  island, 
walked  through  part  of  Sutherland,  and  the  main  land 
of  Lome,  and  searched  the  districts  where  he  was 
stationed  in  Harris,  Skye  and  Islay.  John  Dewar  and 
MacNair  sent  me  what  they  had  been  able  to  learn  about 
the  traditions  of  CowaL  Hector  Urquhart  what  he 
had  collected  about  Inverary.  Mr.  Osgood  Mac- 
kenzie searched  the  neighbourhood  of  Gairloch,  in. 
Koss-shire.  Mr.  Fraser  of  Mauld  sent  contributions 
from  the  eastern  Highlands  about  Beauly.  Mr.  Hugh 
MacLean  tried  the  district  about  West  Loch,  Tarbert ; 
Mr.  Pattieson  and  Mr.  Taylor  tried  Islay,  Glasgow,  and 
Paisley ;  Mr.  MacLauchlan  sent  something  from  Edin- 
burgh, and  I  myself  visited  nearly  all  these  places,  and 
corresponded  with  a  great  number  of  friends  in  these 
and  other  parts  of  the  Highlands,  who  corresponded  with 
their  Mends.  In  short,  though  the  search  is  incomplete, 
and  I  have  often  gleaned  more  than  my  collectors  had 
reaped,  it  was  sufficiently  extensive  to  make  certain 
of  finding  any  widely  spread  class  of  poetry  now 
current,  and  latterly  we  looked  for  it.  In  only  one 
case  have  I  been  able  to  find  any  part  of  the  poetry  of 
1807  in  its  present  form  known  to  reciters,  nor  have  I 
been  able  to  discover  that  any  of  the  poems  printed  by 
Dr.  Smith  are  ever  recited  in  their  published  form. 
We  have  occasionally  found  copies  of  "  Ossian,"  and 
Dr.  Smith's  work ;  but  no  one  seemed  to  have  read 
them.  The  Ossian  presented  to  the  parish  of  Dunoon 
and  all  the  copies  which  I  have  seen  or  heard  of  are 
in  good  condition.     I  have  a  tattered  "  Seann  Dana,** 

VOL. IV.  K 


I3O  OSSIAN CURRENT  GAELIC  TRADITIONS. 

but  it  is  not  thumbed.  I  may  fairly  say  that  the 
Gaelic  Ossian  of  1807,  and  Seann  Dana  of  1787,  are 
almost  unknown  to  the  class  who  recite  Gaelic  poems 
which  they  attribute  to  Oisein. 

It  is  argued  that  the  day  for  collecting  Ossian  is 
gone ;  and  it  is  true,  but  something  still  remains 
amongst  those  who  can  neither  read  nor  write,  nor 
speak  English,  as  I  shall  endeavour  to  prove. 


In  1786,  that  is,  twenty- six  years  after  MacPher- 
son's  first  publication,  and  twenty-one  years  before  the 
Gaelic  Ossian  was  printed,  and  about  the  time  that 
Dr.  Smith's  Seann  Dana  appeared,  the  publication  of 
John  Gillies  appeared  also.  It  is  a  very  rare  book ;  it 
has  made  no  stir  in  the  world,  and  it  never  was  dis- 
tributed gratis  ;  it  is  hardly  noticed  by  the  Highland 
Society  in  their  report ;  and  MacPherson  only  refers 
to  it  in  a  note.  There  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that 
"  Ossian  "  and  "  Seann  Dana  "  ought  to  be  known,  and 
"Gillies'  poems"  unknown  to  the  people;  but  the 
reverse  is  true.  Many  of  the  poems  collected  in  1860 
are  versions  of  those  collected  about  eighty  years  before 
by  Gillies. 

On  looking  through  the  books  and  manuscripts 
referred  to  above,  I  found  the  very  same  poems  pre- 
served in  collections  made  in  the  Highlands  long  ago, 
together  with  other  similar  poems  ;  but  the  "  Seann 
Dana"  and  the  "  Gaelic  Ossian"  are  nowhere  to  be  found 
in  any  of  these  collections  made  from  the  people. 

In  1530  Dean  MacGregor's  collection  was  written, 
and   it  contains  versions  of  poems   which   are   now 


0881  AN  AND  BALLADS.  I  3  I 

current;  and  one  of  these  is  the  Lay  of  Diarmaid; 
so  I  take  it  as  an  example.  When  my  version  was 
printed,  I  asked  and  obtained  permission  to  compare 
it  with  that  of  1530  ;  and  I  subsequently  obtained 
another  version,  written  at  Gairloch  for  Sir  Kenneth 
Mackenzie  in  1850,  from  the  dictation  of  John 
MacPherson,  then  eighty-eight  years  old.  I  am  in- 
debted to  Mr.  Nicholson  for  this.  Other  versions 
were  written  by  Kennedy  in  1774  or  1783,  and 
printed  by  Gillies  in  1786,  and  by  MacCallum 
1816;  and  I  believe  that  there  are  many  other  ver- 
sions. All  which  I  have  read  vary  from  each  other 
in  length,  in  language,  in  arrangement  of  verses,  and 
of  lines.  Kennedy's  traditional  version  has  86  qua- 
trains, but  some  of  them  are  repeated  several  times; 
mine  has  125  lines,  33  verses  incomplete;  the  Gair- 
loch version  has  21  verses,  and  of  these  19  correspond 
with  mine,  though  not  exactly.  Two  verses  I  had  not 
got,  they  are  as  follows  : — 

"  Bu  mhath  mise  dhuit  Fhinn, 
'S  bu  math  mi  dhuit  gu  beachd  ; 
Bu  mhath  mi  latha  na  tath  bhrindhne, 
'S  bha  mi  'n  ceardach  Lon  mhic  Iibhionn. 

"  Tri  righrean  thanaig  o'n  tuinn, 
Mo  lamhsa  dh'  fhag  iad  gun  chinn ; 
'S  a  dh'  fhuasgail  thusa  le  fuil, 
C  uime  an  treigeadh  tu  mi  dh  aonfhear?" 

"  Good  was  I  to  thee,  Fionn, 
Surely  to  thee  was  I  good ; 


I32  0B8IAN — OUBBENT  OAELIO  TRADITIONS. 

I  was  good  on  the  day  of  the  ford  dwelling, 
And  I  was  in  Lon  Maclibhion's  smithy. 

4<  Three  kings  came  from  the  waves, 
My  hand  it  was  left  them  headless ; 
And  it  was  I  loosed  thee  with  blood, 
Why  shouldst  thou  leave  me  of  all  men  ? " 

On   looking   through   Kennedy's   version   I   find 
something  like  these  in  it,  and  they  join  in  with  three 
other  Fenian  traditions.     For  the  Ford  dwelling,  see 
page  169,  vol.  ii  ;  for  the  blood  which  loosed  Fionn, 
p.  179  ;  and  for  old  manuscript  authority  for  a  similar 
story,  p.   187  of  the  same  volume ;  for  the  Smithy 
story,  see  Nos.  lxviii.  and  lxxxv.  in  vol.  iii.     Neither 
of  these  verses  are  in  the  version  of   1530,  and  I 
have  several  others  which  are  not  there.     The  varia- 
tions in  all  these  are  remarkable,  the  lines  vary  more 
in  sense  than  in  sound,  and  the  main  story  hardly 
varies  at  all ;  it  seems  as  if  successive  reciters  or  scribes 
had  caught  up  the  story,  and  the  assonance  and  rhythm, 
and  substituted  words,  and  transposed  lines  and  stanzas 
from  time  to  time  ;  for  example — "  Kighrean,"  kings 
in  the  Gairloch  poem,  is  "  nigheanan,"  girls  or  daugh- 
ters in  the  story — reeran  and  njeenan  being  the  sounds. 
"Coisinn,  naire,"  earn,  shame,  is   "toir  taire,"  give 
disgrace,  in  which  the  sounds  oi  and  ai  are  preserved, 
and  the  general  idea  is  given,  though  the  words  are 
altered. 

"  An  sgiath  urla,"  the  expert  shield,  becomes 
"  sgiath  shuthairle,"  the  shield  of  Sutharle  ;  the 
sounds  are — sgeea  oorla,  sgeea  hooarle;  "o'n  taigh," 


OSSIAN  AND  BALLADS.  133 

from  home,  becomes   "a'  t'  aghaidh,"  against  thee  ; 
on-tai,  at-ai-e,  and  so  on  in  many  instances. 

The  verses  also  are  differently  arranged.  In  the 
Gairloch  version  and  in  mine,  1  and  2  agree,  but  3  in 
the  one  is  10  in  the  other ;  5  is  3 ;  4  and  6  are  trans- 
posed ;  16  is  30 ;  18  is  21,  and  so  on.  In  short,  this 
comparison  of  a  number  of  versions  of  the  same  ballad, 
written  down  at  various  periods  between  1530  and 
1860,  in  different  districts,  is  a  very  interesting  study 
for  a  philologist,  and  for  any  one  who  takes  an  interest 
in  traditional  lore. 

In  the  first  place,  there  is  a  measure  of  popular 
memory ;  and  it  appears  that  tradition  will  not  pre- 
serve  a  poem  entire  for  330  years,  so  it  could  not 
have  so  preserved  much  longer  poems  for  1600. 

It  appears  also  that  the  language  spoken  in  the 
Highlands  has  changed,  though  far  less  than  English 
during  that  time  ;  but  the  change  is  sufficient  to  prove 
that  Gaelic  of  the  nineteenth  century  cannot  be  the 
language  of  a  poet  who  lived  in  the  third. 

It  is  also  plain  that  the  orthography  of  the  poems  of 
1807,  which  is  that  of  the  Highland  Society's  dictionary 
and  the  modern  Bible,  is  not  the  orthography  of  the 
scribes  who  wrote  Gaelic  at  earlier  periods ;  and,  con- 
sequently, "the  poems  of  Ossian"  are  not  a  standard  for 
language  or  spelling. 

Again,  the  rhythm  and  assonance  of  this  traditional 
poem  are  such,  that  when  I,  on  my  own  judgment,  had 
separated  lines  written  consecutively,  into  quatrains,  I 
found,  on  inquiry,  that  previous  collectors  had  done 
the  same  with  similar  passages  ;  and  our  divisions  cor- 


134  OSSIAN— CURRENT  GAELIC  TRADITIONS. 

respond,  and  fit  the  music  to  which  the  pieces  are  still 
song.  Much  of  the  Gaelic  of  Ossian  and  Seann  Dana 
can  be  so  divided,  but  a  great  deal  of  it  will  not  break 
up  into  musical  quatrains  ;  and  from  this  I  would 
argue  that  it  is  not  now  in  its  original  shape. 

Now,  a  poem  of  Diarmaid  was  published  by  Dr. 
Smith  in  1787,  and  the  Doctor  had  then  in  his  posses- 
sion the  version  collected  by  Kennedy,  but  though  the 
stories  agree,  the  published  poem  and  Kennedy's  manu- 
script differ  entirely. 

Dr.  Smith  says  of  himself  (Smith's  Gaelic  Anti- 
quities, p.  128.     1780.    Edinburgh)— 

"  When  the  materials  were  collected,  his  next  labour  was  to 
compare  the  different  editions;  to  strike  off  several  parts  that 
were  manifestly  spurious;  to  bring  together  some  episodes," etc., 

and  he  tells  us,  that  he  pieced  in  lines  and  half  lines, 
and  sometimes  threw  in  a  few  lines  and  sentences  of 
his  own.  The  result  is,  that  there  is  no  trace  of 
Smith's  Diarmaid  to  be  found  as  an  entire  composition 
either  in  old  MSS.  or  modern  tradition;  the  poetry 
will  not  easily  break  up  into  quatrains,  and  but  for 
occasional  passages  which  can  be  recognised  elsewhere, 
Smith's  Diarmaid  might  almost  rank  with  Ossian  itself 
But  that  was  formerly  considered  to  be  the  proper  treat- 
ment of  an  original  work  of  the  third  century,  and  the 
work  so  treated  was  translated  and  published,  and  the 
whole  process  was  openly  described  by  the  able  scholar 
who  did  it. 

I  have  taken  this  poem  as  an  illustration,  because 
it  has  nothing  to  do  with  MacPherson's  Ossian,  and  its 


OSSIAN  AND  BALLADS.  135 

history  seems  to  indicate  how  the  Gaelic  of  Ossian  was 
put  together,  and  from  what  materials  it  was  made. 

The  value  of  the  materials  will  best  appear  by% 
comparing  the  versions  of  1530  and  1860  with  inter- 
veiling  versions.  There  are  forty-two  lines  in  the  first 
which  are  clearly  the  same  as  lines  in  the  last,  and 
about  twelve  more  which  can  be  recognised ;  but  no 
two  lines  are  exactly  the  same,  and  those  which  re- 
semble each  other  are  scattered  broadcast  throughout 
the  compositions  ;  but  the  stories  are  almost  the 
same. 

The  old  version  was  attributed  to  an  unknown 
Allan  MacEoyre ;  tradition  now  attributes  the  Lay  of 
Diarmaid  to  Oisein,  and  Irish  scholars  assure  us 
that  the  main  incidents  are  historically  true,  as  this 
is  but  a  part  of  the  story  of  Diarmaid  and  Grainne, 
who  lived  about  the  third  century.  Few  ballads 
have  a  better  pedigree,  or  have  met  with  worse 
treatment  than  this  Lay  of  Diarmaid.  1530,  Dean 
MacGregor,  104  lines — Kennedy,  1774,  344 — Smith, 
1787,  193  —  MacCallum,  1816,  161— MacPherson, 
1850,  84— MacLean,  1860  (104).  I  have  other  ver- 
sions, got  from  Mr.  Torrie,  etc.,  since  the  sheet  was 
printed,  and  plenty  more  may  yet  be  got,  as  the  ballad 
is  common  enough  in  the  Hebrides,  and  the  story  is 
known  everywhere,  and  often  contains  lines  of  the 
ballad. 

This  then  is  a  Gaelic  "  ballad"  a  story  made  into 
verse,  and  sung  by  the  people  time  out  of  mind.  It 
was  easy  to  build  up  a  new  structure  with  such  excel- 
lent materials,  and  so  give  a  tolerable  idea  of  the  poetry 


I36  OSSIAN CURRENT  GAELIC  TRADITIONS. 

of  the  country,  partly  true  and  partly  false,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  the  poems  of  Ossian  were  so  made. 

Take  one  instance.  What  is  true  of  Smith's  "  Diar- 
maid"  is  true  of  "  Temora."  I  know  no  instance  in 
which  that  poem  can  be  repeated  by  any  one,  and  no 
peasant  of  my  acquaintance  knows  it.  I  got  MacNair, 
a  shoemaker,  to  read  the  Gaelic  Ossian,  and  he  said 
plainly  and  decidedly,  "This  is  not  the  old  stuff." 
"Cha*  n'  e  so  an  seann  stugh."  Hector  MacLean 
entirely  agrees,  having  read  the  book  with  the  view  of 
forming  an  opinion,  and  though  many  persons  talk 
freely  of  Ossian,  and  give  very  decided  opinions  thereon, 
very  few,  indeed,  have  read  the  Gaelic.  Now,  if  Mac- 
Pherson's  English  Temora  be  compared  with  No.  lxxxi., 
it  will  be  found  that  the  story  of  the  first  book  and 
of  the  traditional  poem  is  very  simple,  and  that  both 
agree  generally.  Moreover,  stanzas  13,  14,  24,  15,  16, 
39,  40,  46,  48,  55,  56,  62,  57,  58,  of  the  Gaelic,  re- 
peated in  1860,  are  represented  by  passages  which 
follow  each  other  in  this  order,  about  the  middle  of  the 
first  book ;  but  the  magic  opening  of  the  ballad,  the 
talking  raven,  and  the  soothsaying,  all  which  savours  of 
a  past  age,  is  replaced  in  the  epic  by  a  vague  but 
beautiful  and  masterly  word-picture  of  a  landscape, 
through  which  stalk  the  half-described  indistinct  figures 
of  gloomy  warriors  whose  dress  and  arms  are  barely 
sketched,  but  whose  peculiarities  agree  with  the  tra- 
ditional accounts  of  them  so  far  as  they  go.  Thus, 
Cairbre  has  a  spear,  and  his  eye  is  red,  if  his  hair  is 
not.  In  the  epic,  the  opening  scene  is  shifted  to 
Cairbre's  camp,  and  then  back  to  FingaTs  side,  and  the 


OSSTAN  AND  BALLADS.  137 

whole  is  pervaded  by  a  general  resemblance  to  the 
opening  of  Fingal,  but  the  first  book  ends  with  some- 
thing which  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  trace  else- 
where. The  ballad,  on  the  contrary,  begins  with  Osgar, 
follows  him  to  the  house  of  Cairbre,  and  through  his 
quarrel,  and  back  to  his  own  camp,  and  through  the 
fight  till  he  dies,  and  then  it  accompanies  his  friends  in 
their  lament,  and  procession,  to  his  burial.  The  whole 
ends  with  a  natural  account  of  the  grief  of  Fionn,  by 
Fionn's  son,  the  poet  Oisein,  who  is  supposed  to  be 
narrating  the  end  of  his  own  darling  son,  Osgar.  The 
ballad  is  simple  and  natural ;  the  epic  is  laboured  and 
artificial,  and  it  is  no  "  translation,"  according  to  my 
definition  of  the  word,  but  it  is  like  something  elabo- 
rated and  built  up  out  of  the  materials  of  one  or  more 
ballads.  A  few  well-known  Gaelic  lines  are  scattered 
about  in  an  English  dress,  such  as  "the  sword  was  at 
his  side  that  gave  no  second  wound,"  and  a  man  who 
read  Temora  for  the  first  time,  and  held  loose  views  of 
translation,  and  knew  the  traditional  Gaelic  ballads, 
might  well  say  that  the  one  was  a  translation  of  the 
other,  but  very  inaccurate,  and  inferior  to  the  original. 

MacPherson  knew  of  this  ballad,  and  in  his  edition 
of  1790  quotes  two  stanzas  of  it,  which  were  taken, 
as  he  says,  from  an  Irish  poem  on  the  battle  of  Gabhra. 
These  stanzas  were  printed  by  Gillies,  and  were  found 
in  Scotland  at  least  fourteen  years  before,  in  1786. 

Versions  of  this  ballad  are  very  commonly  repeated 
in  the  islands  now,  and  No.  lxxxi.  might  be  considerably 
extended  by  further  search  in  Tslay,  Barra,  Uist,  etc.  I 
know  that  it  was  formerly  recited  about  Loch  Awe,  and 


I38  OSSIAN— CURRENT  GAELIC  TRADITIONS. 

there  is  a  man  there  still,  who  is  said  to  know  many  such. 
In  1 81 6,  MacCallum  got  it  from  a  Mr.  Donald  Maclnnes, 
and  published  it,  page  154  of  his  book.  Gillies  gives 
two  versions  in  1 786,  at  page  1 67  and  313.  Kennedy- 
gives  it  in  his  collection  of  1783,  and  got  it  in  Argyle- 
shire.  MacPherson  made  it  the  groundwork  of  Temora, 
and  of  his  first  publication  in  1 7  60,  and  Dean  MacGregor 
gives  it  in  1 530.  On  the  other  side  of  the  water,  a  simi- 
lar poem  was  published  in  1853  by  the  Dublin  Ossianic 
Society,  and  in  the  twelfth  century  a  short  ballad,  attri- 
buted to  Oisin,  was  written  down  in  Ireland,  and  the 
best  Irish  scholars  believe  that  the  leading  events  re- 
corded in  the  ballad,  and  found  in  Temora,  the  battle 
and  the  deaths  of  Oscar  and  Cairbre,  are  historically 
true,  and  happened  a.d.  284,  in  Ireland,  where  the  scene 
is  laid  in  every  one  of  the  compositions  named  above. 

This  seems  a  respectable  pedigree  for  a  tradition, 
worked  into  an  epic  poem  at  least  a  hundred  years  ago, 
and  one  that  excites  regret  for  the  neglected  state  of 
Gaelic  literature  of  all  kinds. 

What  has  been  said  of  "Diarmaid  "  is  true  of"  Laoidh 
Oscair."  No  two  versions  are  identical ;  the  language 
and  orthography  vary  with  the  age,  and  the  scribe ; 
rhythm  and  assonance  are  preserved,  stanzas  are  broken, 
parts  found  in  one  version  are  not  to  be  found  in 
another ;  and  there  is  ample  room  for  honestly  mending, 
with  its  own  fragments,  that  which  has  gone  to  decay, 
without  playing  such  tricks  as  Temora.  There  is  not 
one  line  of  the  Gaelic  of  the  traditional  ballad  in  the 
Gaelic  of  1807,  and  the  first  Gaelic  book  of  Temora, 
as  then  published,  has  still  to  be  accounted  for. 


OSSIAN  AND  BALLADS.  I  39 

It  seems  by  no  means  a  difficult  task  to  make 
another  sham  epic  out  of  genuine  Gaelic  materials.  I 
have  enough  to  make  a  goodly  frame  work,  and  here  is 
a  specimen  of  the  kind  of  "  translation,"  which  might 
be  founded  on,  several  measured  prose  passages,  which 
are  to  be  found  in  these  volumes,  and  elsewhere.  It  is 
the  sort  of  translation  which  some  of  my  critics  seem 
to  have  expected,  instead  of  the  "  bald  literal  transla- 
tion "  which  I  prefer. 

A  few  specimen  8  of  former  work  will  shew,  that  if  I  have 
fallen  into  Charybdis,  it  was  in  avoiding  Scylla. 

Page  190.     Smith's  Gaelic  Antiquities. 

"  Graina,  dost  thou  not  remember  the  moans  of  the  crane,  as 
we  wandered  early  on  the  hill  of  our  love  ?" 

With  pity,  thou  didst  ask  the  aged  son  of  the  rock,  why  so 
sad  was  the  voice  of  the  crane  ?  "  Too  long,"  he  replied,  "  he 
hath  stood  in  the  fen  ;  and  the  ice  hath  bonnd  his  lazy  foot." 

A  similar  passage  will  be  found  at  pages  42  and  47,  vol.  iii., 
and  from  the  Gaelic  quoted  by  Smith.  His  original  seems  to  have 
been  almost  the  same  as  mine.    His  Gaelic  lines  mean — 

Early  the  Heron  cries 

On  the  meadow  that  is  in  Love's  hill  (sliabh  gaoil). 

The  same  author  translates  — 

"  As  it  were  a  bulrush  on  a  slender  reed  of  Lego.  He  grinds 
the  hard  tough  spear  of  Dermid." 

A  similar  traditional  passage  is  given  in  vol.  iii.,  43  and  48. 
Smith's  Gaelic  is  given  by  him  at  page  193 : — 

Chagnadh  e  a  shleaghan  readh  ruadh' 
Mar  chuilc  na  Leige  no  mar  luachar. 

And  it  means, — 

He  would  crunch  his  tough  brown  darts 
As  reeds  of  Leige  or  as  rushes. 


1 40  0S8IAN— CURRENT  GAELIC  TRADITIONS. 

Another  passage  is  given  by  the  same  author  at  page  198,  and 
whenever  the  Gaelic  is  placed  beside  the  English,  the  spirit  of 
the  original  poetry  gives  way  to  a  prose  imitation  of  MacPher- 
son'8  peculiar  English.  Though  the  Gaelic  is  in  a  metre  which 
clearly  indicates  a  division  into  quatrains,  of  which  each  line  is  a 
separate  portion  of  a  sentence,  and  makes  sense  alone,  the 
English  is  all  heaped  together.  The  result  is,  fine  English  and 
something  new. 

I  have  striven  to  express,  in  the  plainest  words,  the  plain 
meaning  of  the  old  Gaelic  as  I  got  it.  If  my  predecessors  had 
been  less  free  in  their  translations,  and  their  critics  less  hard,  I 
might  have  steered  a  middle  course.  As  it  was,  my  chief  aim 
was  to  give  a  true  rendering,  without  caring  for  my  own  "  style" 
or  that  of  "  Ossian."  —  False  Translation  op  Genuine 
Gaelic. 
bl.  ii  439.  They  hoisted  the  lumbering  yards,  and  the  three  great  flap- 
pering  sails,  against  the  tall  tough  stringy  bending  masts,  and  the 
cordage  rattled  through  the  blocks. 

There  was  a  gentle  little  breeze,  such  as  sailors  like  at  sea,  a 
sighing,  singing,  whistling,  rushing  wind,  that  threshed  up  the 
heather  on  the  hill  sides,  stripped  off  the  rustling  leaves  from  the 
willow  trees,  and  tossed  the  thatch  of  the  houses  on  the  ridges 
and  furrows  of  the  fields.  The  sides  of  the  vessel  creaked  again 
as  tbev  set  the  sails. 

Then  the  ship  went  slipping  swiftly  along  through  the  sheltered 
sound,  while  the  rippling  little  blue  wavelets  came  lipping  gently 
against  her  bow,  till  she  rounded  the  point  with  a  whirr,  and 
went  into  the  surging  broken  water  outside  with  a  plunge. 

Then  the  lumbering  great  ocean  swell  came  thundering  up 
against  the  dark  rocks,  and  struck  the  ship's  side  with  a  heavy 
thud,  as  she  bounded  along.  Their  music  then  was  made  by 
splashing  whales,  and  screeching  sea-gulls,  and  silvery  little  fishes 
leaping  through  the  waves  before  them. 

She  could  almost  catch  the  swift  March  wind  before  her,  but 


OSSIAN  AND  BALLADS.  1 4 1 

the  swift  March  wind  that  followed  behind  could  not  catch  her ;  Vol.  i.  4. 
and  so  they  sailed  on,  tearing  ocean,  till  a  little  island  rose  before 
them,  and  then  they  reached  tbe  port  where  they  wished  to  be, 
and  the  rattling  chains  rushed  over  the  side,  and  the  rusty  anchor 
made  her  fast ;  and  they  were  still  and  quiet  in  the  calm  bay. 

Then  one  hundred  and  ten  heavily-armed,  brave,  active,  valiant  VoL  ii.  443. 
men  landed,  and  then  they  advanced,  with  their  booming,  hinder- 
ing, lumbering  shields,  on  their  left  arms,  and  their  sharp-pointed  459. 
tall  deadly  spears,  in  their  right  hands ;  and  the  fighting  began      MSS- 
with  the  sharp  singing  sound  of  the  swift  flying  spears  through 
the  air.    But  soon  the  close  combat  was  joined,  and  the  hard  cruel 
blades  were  drawn  out  from  their  leathern  sheaths,  and  whistled 
and  clashed ;    and  the  creaking  of  armour  was  heard,  and  the 
crash  of  the  battle  ;  and  the  bright  shiny  clean  sweeping  swords 
hacked  hard  at  the  armour,  and  men  met  and  struggled,  and  close 
locked  together,  they  dashed  down  each  other,  while  the  shrieks 
of  the  wounded  were  heard,  and  the  crashing  of  armour,  crushed 
under  foot ;  and  the  groans  of  the  dying,  and  the  shouts  of  the 
heroes,  and  the  boom  of  the  "shields ;  and  wild  wailing  piercing 
shrieks  and  cries  made  the  terrible  din  of  war. 

Such,  oh  Clerk,  were  the  heroes  of  old.     There  gathered  the  Vol.  iii.  368. 
horrid  hounds  about  them  to  watch  the  strife ;  the  ravens  croaked 
over  the  brows  of  the  slain,  and  they  rest  till  the  stars  shall  fall 
and  the  earth  burst. 

The  chief  difficulty  would  be  to  find  an  audience 
now-a-days.  A  century  ago  it  was  different.  The  world 
was  then  agape  after  the  Highlanders  who  had  raised  such 
a  stir.  "  The  rebellion"  had  been  put  down  ;  there  was 
a  kind  of  satisfaction  in  discovering  noble  qualities  in  the 
"  un vanquished  Scots,"  who  had  just  been  got  to  help 
to  vanquish  each  other.  Men  believed  in  epics,  and 
opened  their  mouths  and  shut  their  eyes,  and  swallowed 
what  James  MacPherson  sent  them,  but  when  they  had 


I42  GAELIO  0881  AN. 

tasted  the  gift  and  opened  their  eyes,  and  began  to 
suspect  that  they  had  been  sold  a  bargain,  men,  like 
children,  refused  to  take  the  nicest  of  jam,  for  fear  of 
another  dose. 

So  far  then,  current  tradition  gives  no  support 
to  the  entire  authenticity  of  the  "  poems  of  Ossian," 
English  or  Gaelic,  but  it  joins  on  to  manuscript  evi- 
dence and  proves  beyond  dispute  that  there  has  been 
a  mass  of  Gaelic  poetry  current  in  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland  for  a  long  time,  that  it  is  "  Ossianic"  the 
germ  of  Ossian,  but  not  "  Ossian,"  as  known  to  the 
world.  It  seems  as  if  stories  had  produced  a  crop  of 
ballads,  and  some  one  had  reaped  the  crop  and  sold  it 
in  the  sheaf 

The  list  of  poems  placed  at  the  end  of  this  volume 
will  give  some  idea  of  the  amount  of  Gaelic  poetry  of  this 
kind  which  still  exists,  and  where  it  may  be  found.  The 
list  has  no  claim  to  be  complete,  but  will  serve  as  a 
foundation  for  other  inquirers,  if  such  be  found. 


GAELIC  OSSIAN INTERNAL  EVIDENCE,  ETC. 

The  list  will  shew  that  the  Irish  claim  to  all 
genuine  old  Gaelic  poetry  is  unfounded ;  but  I  have 
little  doubt  that  versions  of  anything  which  has  ever 
been  extensively  known  amongst  the  Scotch  Gael  has 
been  equally  well  known  to  their  Irish  brethren.  The 
best  course  is  to  make  peace  ;  share  this  common 
Celtic  property ;  make  the  best  possible  use  of  it ;  and 
preserve  what  is  left. 


INTEBNAL  EVIDENCE,  ETC.  1 43 

But  this  long  race  was  for  "  Ossian's  poems,"  and  the 
prize  is  not  yet  awarded  There  is  no  direct  evidence 
as  to  who  compounded  the  famous  work ;  and  unless 
the  poems  will  tell  us,  I  know  not  where  to  seek  for  a 
reply  to  the  questions  which  remain.  Who  wrote  the 
Gaelic  of  1807  Ì  and  which  was  the  first  written,  that 
Gaelic  or  the  English  Ì 

The  first  question  I  cannot  answer ;  but  it  seems 
highly  improbable  that  MacPherson  wrote  it  himsel£ 
Ewan  MacLachlan,  one  of  the  best  of  modern  scholars, 
wrote  to  MacCallum  (see  page  224  of  the  Gaelic 
book) — 

"  If  the  works  of  Ossian  are  a  forgery,  we  have  sufficient 
grounds  to  believe  that  the  imposition  cannot  be  charged  on 
modern  times."  "  Antiquity  has  ascribed  the  contents  of  your 
work  to  Ossian." 

But  MacCallum's  work  consists  of  traditional  bal- 
lads, not  of  the  large  poems,  so  the  sentence  of  Ewan 
MacLachlan,  which  at  first  seems  all  for  the  Gaelic  of 
1807,  is  really  for  the  Gaelic  of  1813.  As  he  truly 
says,  most  of  that  Gaelic  rests  upon  manuscripts  and 
traditions. 

I  am  not  aware  that  any  Scotch  Highlander  of  this 
day  has  given  his  opinion  of  the  published  Ossian.  So 
it  may  be  of  some  interest  to  read  what  men,  who  have 
studied  it,  really  think  of  it ;  and,  first,  I  will  give  the 
opinion  which  I  had  formed  for  myself  from  reading 
the  controversy,  and  from  a  knowledge  of  vernacular 
Gaelic,  which  passes  unquestioned  everywhere,  and 
was  acquired  in  childhood,  but  which  does  not  include 


144  GAELIC  088IAN. 

any  critical  knowledge  of  the  niceties  of  the  written 
language. 

When  the  Gaelic  Fingal,  published  in  1807,  is  com- 
pared with  any  one  of  the  translations  which  purport 
to  have  been  made  from  it,  it  seems  to  me  incompar- 
ably superior.  It  is  far  simpler  in  diction.  It  has  a 
peculiar  rhythm  and  assonance  which  seem  to  repel  the 
notion  of  a  mere  translation  from  English  as  something 
almost  absurd.  It  is  impossible  that  it  can  be  a  trans- 
lation from  MacPherson's  English,  unless  there  was 
some  clever  Gaelic  poet  then  alive,  able  and  willing  to 
write  what  Eton  school-boys  call  "  full  sense  verses." 

It  is  scarcely  credible  that  such  a  man  would  con- 
ceal his  name,  unless  he  were  both  poet  and  translator ; 
and  all  who  have  written  on  the  subject  deny  that 
MacPherson  had  any  great  knowledge  of  Gaelic  or 
power  of  versification. 

Great  part  of  Fingal  might,  with  propriety,  be 
divided  into  stanzas  of  four  lines,  having  much  of  the 
peculiar  assonance  of  poems  of  undoubted  authenticity, 
which  are  still  recited ;  the  whole  clinks  and  hangs 
together  in  such  a  way  that  no  one  but  a  poet  could 
have  so  jointed  words  to  express  ideas. 

The  words  also  are  often  chosen  for  their  appro- 
priate sound,  as  well  as  for  their  meaning  and  rhythm — 

"  Fhreagair  an  sonn  mar  thonn  air  carraig," 
"  Answered  the  brave  like  wave  on  a  crag," 

has  two  long  deep  vowel  sounds,  something  like  moan, 
tone,  combined  with  other  broad  vowels  ;  suggestive  of 
the  deep  thunder  of  dashing  waves,  and  of  a  grand 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE,  ETC.  1 45 

deep  voice,  as  the  famous  line  in  Milton  is  of  the  harsh 
grating  of  the  Gates  of  Hell  (Paradise  Lost,  book  il) — 


« 


And  on  a  sudden,  open  fly, 

With  impetuous  recoil  and  jarring  sound, 
The  infernal  doors,  and  on  their  hinges  grate 
Harsh  thunder." 


Nothing  is  more  probable  than  that  a  poet  should 
choose  the  Gaelic  words  if  his  ears  were  familiar  with 
the  loud  deep  roar  of  the  Atlantic  on  a  still  evening  ; 
nothing  more  improbable  than  that  they  should  happen 
to  be  chosen  by  one  who  was  not  a  poet,  who  was 
translating  prose  ideas  from  another  language.  It  is 
probable  that  the  Gaelic  in  this  case  was  first  composed, 
though  it  cannot  be  proved. 

Again,  a  mere  translator  would  surely  have  taken 
the  model  before  him,  or  some  other ;  he  would  have 
written  prose  like  MacPherson's,  or  he  would  have 
copied  some  known  metre.  The  Gaelie  is  wholly  un- 
like the  English,  and  is  not  prose,  and  to  the  best  of 
my  knowledge  the  irregular  metre  has  no  exact  coun- 
terpart, while  the  nearest  resemblance  to  it  is  in  the 
genuine  Gaelic  traditional  ballads,  which  treat  of  the 
same  people,  and  often  describe  the  same  incidents — 

I  saw  the  chieftain,  said  Moran, 

Like  to  a  crag  was  the  noble  ; 

His  spear  like  a  pine  on  the  steep  hill, 

Like  the  moon  in  its  rising  his  shield — 

Is   the   metre  and   meaning   without   the   assonance 

VOL.  IV.  L 


I46  GAELIC  OSSIAN. 

of  four  lines  in  "Fingal"  of  1807,  and  the  passage 
savours  of  originality,  or  a  genuine  model. 

MacPherson's  fragments,  published  1760,  which 
are  the  least  suspected  of  all  his  works,  contain  the 
following  as  a  translation  (page  60) — "  I  saw  their 
chief,  says  Morven,  tall  as  a  rock  of  ice.  His  spear  is 
like  that  fir  ;  his  shield  is  like  the  rising  moon." 

There  is  nothing  about  ice  in  the  Gaelic  of  1807. 

In  the  same  page  is  the  English  equivalent  for  the 
Gaelic  line,  quoted  above — 

"  He  answered  like  a  wave  on  the  rock." 

Now  either  the  word  "  Sonn,"  the  hero  which  gives  the 
assonance,  was  loosely  translated  by  the  pronoun  "  he," 
or  some  one  in  translating  the  English  prose,  changed 
"he"  into  "the  hero." 

Kennedy  gives  a  traditional  equivalent  for  the  line, 

"  Bha  neart  a  ghair  mar  bhair  tuinne," 

which  means — 

"  The  might  of  his  shout  was  as  billow's  crest," 

and  this  was  rendered  by  the  reporters  of  the  Highland 
Society  "literally,"  thus — 

"  He  spoke  with  the  force  of  a  breaking  wava" 

But  if  this  English  line  were  translated  back  into 
Gaelic,  it  would  lose  all  its  force. 

"  Labhair  e  le  neart  thuinn  a  bristeadh  " 

is  English  Gaelic,  and  prosaic  prose,  and  so  would  be  a 
similar  translation  of  Macpherson's  English  line. 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE,  ETC.  i  47 

And  so  we  must  assume  that  two  able  Gaelic  poets 
had  freely  translated  one  English  line  in  two  different 
ways  so  as  to  please  the  ear ;  or  that  the  line  in  the 
fragments  was  translated  from  a  line  in  Gaelic  older 
than  1760,  and  different  from  that  of  1807. 

Again,  the  metre  in  this  book  of  Fingal  often 
varies  to  suit  the  meaning,  and  that  is  another  argu- 
ment for  the  originality  of  the  Gaelic. 

When  the  warriors  are  running  together,  the  rhythm 
is  rapid,  and  names  are  strung  togeLr  L  the  Lie 
fashion  as  they  are  in  ballads  and  similar  composi- 
tions. 

It  is  slow  when  the  meaning  requires  it,  while 
every  here  and  there  a  single  line  stands  alone,  and 
seems  to  end  a  passage. 

Some  passages,  such  as  the  famous  description  of 
Cuchullin  in  his  Car,  are  not  in  the  same  metre  as  the 
rest,  and  resemble  the  measured  prose  of  the  tales. 
Similar  passages  are  in  old  MSS. 

Other  passages  seem  to  be  made  up.  Take,  for 
example,  the  address  to  the  sun  in  Carricthura. 

It  is  given  in  Leabhar  nan  cnoc,  by  Dr.  MacLeod 
in  1834,  by  MacCallum  in  1816,  published  in  part  by 
the  Highland  Society  in  their  report,  1805 ;  by  Stewart, 
1804,  got  by  the  Eev.  Mr.  MacDiarmaid  from  the 
dictation  of  an  old  man  in  Glen  Lyon,  about  30  years 
before  1801,  say  1770.  The  old  man  had  learned 
this  and  other  poems  in  his  youth  from  people  in  the 
same  glen,  so  that  this,  at  least,  must  be  far  older  than 
MacPherson's  first  publications,  1760.  It  was  repeated 
to  my  grand  aunts  when  they  were  girls,  with  other 


I48  GAELIC  OSSIAN. 

Ossianic  pieces,  "by  people  who  lived  in  cottages  far  up 
in  the  hills  above  Loch  Tarbert,  and  these  were  trans- 
lated for  them  by  a  clergyman,  as  they  could  not  speak 
Gaelic  to  the  people  themselves.  It  is  still  repeated  in 
Skye. 

As  got  from  the  people  by  MacCallum,  in  1816, 
the  first  ten  lines  are  connected  in  meaning.  The 
sun  sets  and  sinks  down  to  his  resting  place,  the  waves 
come  slowly  about  him,  and  timidly  raise  their  heads 
to  gaze  on  the  beautiful  sleeping  sun  of  the  skies,  with 
his  golden  hair,  as  waves  might  seem  to  do  when  the 
setting  sun  was  watched  by  a  poet  from  a  west  country 
hill.  The  words  follow  each  other  harmoniously,  they 
have  the  clink  or  "  assonance  "  of  Gaelic  poetry,  they 
make  two  and  a  half  stanzas,  and  each  line  is  complete 
in  sense,  which  accords  with  other  Gaelic  poetry.  So 
far  the  poem  might  be  sung,  and  so  far  it  is  like  other 
traditional  poetry  still  extant,  and  so  far  MacPherson's 
translation  agrees  closely  with  the  Gaelic. 

The  eleventh  line  is  of  a  different  length,  and  does 
not  clink  with  the  others,  and  stands  alone.  It  joins 
the  next  two  lines  which  belong  to  each  other,  and 
make  up  another  stanza.  This  stanza  (the  fifth)  is 
weak  where  it  compares  the  sun  to  a  sunbeam,  but  it 
would  be  a  noble  metaphor  if  it  likened  a  warrior  to  a 
sunbeam  rushing  over  a  level  sward,  and  I  suspect  that 
it  was  originally  composed  with  that  intention. 

The  last  eight  lines  make  two  complete  stanzas,  but 
the  last  is  in  a  different  metre. 

The  main  idea,  again,  is  different  from  that  of  the 
first  ten  lines,  for  the  last  twelve  are  not  applicable  to 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE,  ETC.  I  49 

the  quiet  summer  evening,  whose  picture  was  so  well 
drawn  in  the  first  ten. 

These  describe  a  winter  day,  not  a  summer  evening. 

On  the  whole,  I  should  argue  that  the  first  ten 
lines  were  composed  in  Gaelic  by  some  one  who  had 
great  command  of  the  language  and  poetical  feeling,  and 
who  meant  to  describe  a  summer  sunset ;  the  last  twelve 
by  the  same  or  by  some  other  Gaelic  poet,  whose  head 
was  then  full  of  the  picture  of  a  winter's  day ;  and  that 
the  eleventh  line  is  cement,  composed  to  join  these 
two  fragments,  or  picked  up  and  thrust  in  between 
them,  or  the  final  line  of  a  piece.  It  is  the  final  line 
of  the  passage  in  Carricthura.  I  am  convinced  that 
these  twenty-three  lines  never  were  composed  by  any 
one  poet  at  one  and  the  same  time,  but  I  am  satisfied 
that  the  poet  or  poets  who  made  the  Gaelic  verses 
composed  poetry  of  no  mean  order,  and  MacCallum  got 
them  all  together  from  a  certain  Mr.  J.  Mac-an-t-saoir 
in  Ari-ChasteaL 

I  do  not  assert  that  the  poet's  name  was  Ossian. 
I  deny  on  good  grounds  that  it  was  James  Mac- 
Pherson.  I  maintain  that  a  poet,  and  a  Scotch  High- 
lander, composed  all  those  Gaelic  lines  separately,  if 
not  together ;  and  judging  from  my  own  knowledge  of 
the  people,  and  their  ways,  it  is  possible  that  these 
may  be  fragments  of  sentimental  poetry  different  from 
the  popular  ballads,  more  modern,  but  certainly  older 
than  1730. 

"Grian"  is  feminine,  but  the  sun  is  here  addressed 
as  a  male.  The  confusion  is  something  like  "  Sa 
Majeste  le  Eoi  elle,"  etc. 


15O  GAELIC  0S8IAN. 

The  following  translation  is  almost  literal,    and 
gives  the  musical  rhythm  without  the  assonance. 

The  Song  of  Ullin,  in  Carricthura,  arranged  in  lines. 

1 

Hast  thou  left  thy  blue  course  in  heaven, 
Golden  haired  son  of  the  sky  ! 
The  west  has  opened  its  gates  ; 
The  "bed  of  thy  repose  is  there. 

2 
The  waves  come 

To  behold  thy  beauty, 

They  lift  their  trembling  heads  ; 

They  see  thee  lovely  in  thy  sleep. 

3 

They  shrink  away  with  fear ; 
Eest  in  thy  shadowy  cave,  0  sun  ! 

4 

Let  thy  return  be  in  joy. 


OSSIAN   TO   THE   SETTING   SUN. 

Close  translation  of  Gaelic,  assumed  to  be  older  than  1730. 

1 
Hast  left  the  blue  distance  of  heaven  Ì 

Sorrowless  son  of  the  gold  yellow  hair  ! 

Night's  doorways  are  ready  for  thee, 

Thy  pavilion  of  peace  in  the  west. 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE,  ETC.  1 5  I 


The  billows  came  slowly  around, 
To  behold  him  of  brightest  hair ; 
Timidly  raising  their  heads 
To  gaze  on  thee,  beauteous  asleep. 


They  witless  have  fled  from  thy  side. 
10.  Take  thy  sleep  within  thy  cave, 


11.  Oh  sun,  and  come  back  from  sleep  rejoicing. 

5 — Assumed  to  be  joined  to  the  first 

like  a  sun-gleam  in  the  winter  tide, 

Bushing  with  might  down  the  plain  greensward ; 

Such  like  were  the  days  of  the  Feen, 

As  a  sun  between  shower  squalls  fading. 

6 

Burst  the  dusky  black  clouds  of  the  skies, 
And  snatched  the  loved  beam  from  the  hunter ; 
The  forests'  bare  twigs  are  mourning, 
And  the  moorland's  soft  plants  are  withering. 


But  the  sun  will  return  again, 
To  the  beautiful  woods  of  the  fresh  buds ; 
And  in  the  spring  each  stem  will  smile, 
23.  Gazing  aloft  to  the  son  of  the  skies. 


152  GAELIC  0881  AN. 

Take  another  example.  At  page  226,  Appendix  to 
the  H.  S.  Eeport,  is  a  Gaelic  passage  collected  by  Mac- 
donald  of  Staffa  about  the  end  of  last  century.  It  is 
not  in  the  language,  or  style,  or  metre  of  popular 
ballads  generally,  but  it  is  good  Gaelic,  and  a  sort 
of  cantering  blank  verse.  The  following  is  a  "  close 
translation,"  and  imitates  the  metre  : — 

Oscar,  quell  the  strong  armed ; 
Give  help  to  the  weak-handed  needflil ; 
Be  as  spring-tide  winter  flood-stream, 
To  combat  the  foes  of  the  Feinne ; 
But  as  summer  mild  still  weak  wind, 
Be  to  those  that  seek  thine  aiding. 
Such  like  was  Treunmor  of  Victories, 
Such  Trathal  of  routs  was  after  him, 
And  Fionn  was  a  prop  to  the  weak, 
To  shield  him  from  tyrant's  power. 
For  his  succour  stretched  my  hand, 
With  welcome  I'd  go  to  meet  him ; 
And  he  'd  find  shelter  and  kindness, 
Under  shade  of  the  gleam  of  my  blade. 

It  will  be  seen  that  each  of  these  lines  is  complete 
in  sense.  The  passage  might  be  finished  at  the  end  of 
each  line,  without  making  the  rest  nonsense,  which 
is  a  peculiarity  of  Gaelic  poetry.  Whatever  the  merits 
or  demerits  of  this  passage  may  be,  its  imagery  is  taken 
from  nature,  as  seen  on  the  tide- washed  shores  of  the 
western  coast  ;  and  the  words  of  art  are  those  used  by 
boatmen.  "Buinn  sruth"  is  gaining  tide  the  flood 
stream,  when  it  begins  to  make  strongly ;  J'reabhairt " 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE,  ETC.  153 

is  the  height  of  springs,  when  the  tides  are  strongest ; 
and  to  any  one  who  has  danced  over  the  if  spring-tide 
flood  stream  "  in  a  fishing-boat  on  a  winter's  day,  off 
the  west  of  Scotland,  near  the  whirlpool  of  Corrie 
bhreacan,  the  line  conveys  the  idea  of  irresistible 
power,  which  it  is  intended  to  give.  MacPherson's 
English  loses  all  this,  and  he  was  a  Badenoch  man, 
who  was  not  familiar  with  such  scenes. 

0  Oscar  !  bend  the  strong  in  arm; 

but  spare  the  feeble  hand. 

Be  thou  a  stream  of  many  tides 

against  the  foes  of  thy  people ; 

but  like  the  gale  that  moves  the  grass 

to  those  who  ask  thine  aid. 

So  Treunmor  lived ; 

such  Trathal  was ; 

and  such  has  Fingal  been. 

My  arm  was  the  support  of  the  injured ; 
*  *  *  * 

the  weak  rested 

behind  the  lightning  of  my  steel. 

(Fingal,  book  iii.,  1763.) 

The  Gaelic  of  1807  is  something  quite  different 
from  either  of  these  passages.  (Pp.  148,  149,  gratis 
edition  1818.)  Three  versions  therefore  exist — two 
printed  in  Gaelic,  and  MacPherson's  English;  and  of 
these  I  prefer  Staffa's  west  country  Gaelic,  with  which 
MacPherson  had  nothing  to  do,  and  which  is  not  a 
translation  of  the  published  English,  but  a  far  better 


154  GAELIC  03SIAN. 

version  of  a  similar  passage.      The  Gaelic  must  surely 
be  the  original  in  this  case. 

Again,  passages  composed  on  the  following  prin- 
ciple must  belong  to  the  language  in  which  the  asson- 
ance exists,  rather  than  to  that  which  gives  the  meaning 
less  forcibly,  and  nothing  more  : — - 

Then  out  sprang  the  warrior's  blade, 
and  gaily 
he  waved 

the  f  Zashing  SWORD. 
Let  us  meet  the  foeman,  he  cried  ; 
let  us  ride 
and  decide 
the  AWARD. 
There  are  numerous  passages  in  Gaelic  which  have 
a   structure   as    complicated  as  the  above  tf  nonsense 
verse ; "  for  example  : — 

Dh'  eirich  gu  sPAÌrneach  n'a  suimn 

Bu  truime 

no  'n  tuiim 

cuilg  an  COS 
Sroinich  an  cuim  chlmnte  cian 

s*  an  FhiAn 

gU  CIÀN- 

-AiL  fui  SPROCHD  (bos  Choirait). 

Here  surely  the  Gaelic  was  the  original. 

Such  a  passage  as  Fingal,  Duan  I.,  line  413  to 
437,  the  most  difficult  of  critics  must  admit  to  be 
very  fine  Gaelic,  infinitely  better  than  its  English  equi- 
valent, though  that  passage  will  not  scan  at  alL 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE,  ETC.  I  55 

In  short,  when  I  read  parts  of  Ossian  in  Gaelic,  I 
often  feel  that  this  is  poetry  of  high  order,  of  which 
no  translation  can  give  any  just  idea.  Some  poet 
might  express  the  same  ideas  as  well  in  another  lan- 
guage,  but  no  faithful  translator  can  render  the  mean- 
ing and  imitate  the  original. 

When  I  read  Fingal  in  the  "  original "  I  feel  that 
this  is  poetry,  that  these  are  grand  ideas  clothed  in  mag- 
nificent sonorous  language  ;  on  reading  it  in  English,  I 
often  feel  that  there  is  something  in  it  akin  to  bom- 
bast. In  the  one  case  I  am  drawn  to  the  side  of  those 
who  maintain  that  these  are  genuine  ancient  poems,  in 
the  other  I  feel  driven  to  admit  that  they  are  not ;  and 
when  all  is  done,  I  return  to  my  first  opinion,  that 
Fingal  is  a  fiction  founded  upon  a  broad  basis  of  fact ; 
a  book  of  Gaelic  poetry  of  high  order,  but  not  poetry 
composed  by  Ossian  about  the  time  of  the  Eomans. 

I  hold  that  it  is  manifest,  from  a  consideration  of 
the  Gaelic  poems  themselves,  that  they  were  the  work 
of  one  or  of  many  able  Gaelic  poets.  The  question 
now  is — when  did  they  live  Ì  and  who  were  they  Ì 

It  has  been  argued  that  the  language  is  modern, 
and,  therefore,  that  the  poems  are  modern ;  and  to 
hold  that  the  language  spoken  in  the  days  of  Caracalla 
was  the  language  of  the  last  version  of  the  modern 
Gaelic  Bible  appears  sufficiently  absurd.  The  modern 
air  of  the  language  may,  however,  be  accounted  for. 

Traditional  poems  alter  with  the  age  ;  I  have  al- 
ready shewn  how  rapidly  they  alter,  and  in  what  man- 
ner. At  page  92  of  Sir  John  Sinclair's  Dissertation, 
it  is  stated  that  the  Eev.  Mr.  Thos.  Soss,  of  Edinburgh, 


I  56  GAELIC  0881  AN. 

was  employed  to  transcribe  the  whole  work  as  left  by 
MacPherson  at  his  death  in  1796,  agreeably  to  the 
orthography  of  the  Gaelic  Bible,  that  is,  to  modern 
orthography.  Mr.  Boss  found  fault  with  the  English 
translation,  but  he  had  no  quarrel  with  the  Gaelic. 

MacPherson  had  tried  to  simplify  Gaelic  spelling, 
and  having  found  some  classical  authority  for  the  use 
of  the  Greek  character  by  ancient  Celts,  he  had  begun 
to  print  Gaelic  in  Greek  letters.  Sir  Eoderick  Mur- 
chison  tells  me  that  he  has  meteorological  registers 
written  in  Gaelic,  and  in  the  Greek  character,  by  his 
father. 

When  a  man,  whose  standard  of  orthography  was 
the  modern  Gaelic  Bible,  got  hold  of  such  a  work  as 
MacPherson's  Gaelic  MS.,  he  would  have  small  scruple 
in  making  it  suit  his  standard ;  and  so,  between  popular 
changes,  MacPherson's  interpolations,  simplifications, 
and  restorations,  and  Greek  letters,  and  his  successor's 
modern  standard,  the  ancient  form  of  the  language,  if 
it  was  ancient,  could  hardly  survive. 

What  would  become  of  Chaucer  so  maltreated,  and 
finally  spelt  according  to  modern  rules  of  grammar 
and  orthography  ?  I  have  found  by  experience  that 
an  alteration  in  "  spelling "  may  mean  an  entire  change 
of  construction  and  meaning,  and  a  substitution  of 
whole  words.  I  know  that  a  change  in  the  pronun- 
ciation of  a  single  vowel  sound  will  suggest  such  a 
change  as  this — 

The  geese  would  swim  through  thy  waist 
The  winds  might  float  through  thy  breast 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE,  ETC.  I  57 

The  passage  refers  to  a  man  thrust  through  with 
a  spear.  The  first  is  the  translation  of  the  line  as 
repeated  now  and  in  1786,  and  has  no  meaning,  unless 
it  be  a  ludicrous  measure  of  the  size  of  the  wound. 

The  second  conveys  the  image  of  the  breath  swim- 
ming painfully  through  the  blood  of  a  wounded  man, 
whose  breast  and  lungs  had  been  pierced,  and  the  only 
change  necessary  to  suggest  these  opposite  ideas  is  from 
"  geoidh,"  geese,  to  gaoithe,  winds ;  the  dh  and  the 
being  silent  letters.  MacPherson  would  have  made 
the  change ;  I  did  not,  though  I  believe  it  ought  to 
be  made. 

I  have  compared  versions  of  the  same  poem  lately 
written  down  by  different  men,  from  different  reciters, 
in  different  districts,  at  long  intervals  of  time,  with 
each  other,  with  older  MS.,  and  with  still  older  printed 
versions ;  and  I  find  all  manner  of  strange  variations, 
in  which  rhythm  and  sounds  often  remain,  while  sense 
and  words  are  altered  ;  and  I  find  that  even  the  printed 
Gaelic  of  1807  varies  from  that  of  1763. 

It  has  also  been  argued  that  because  there  is  no 
mythology  in  Ossian,  therefore  it  is  a  forgery ;  but  it 
has  been  shewn,  that  the  collectors  of  former  days 
carefully  weeded  out  all  the  mythology,  because  it  was 
not  quite  reasonable.  I  have  left  all  that  I  found,  and 
it  savours  of  Pagan  sun  worship. 

To  me,  therefore,  the  modern  language  and  English 
idioms  of  the  Gaelic  of  the  edition  of  1807  appear  to 
be  no  valid  argument  against  the  general  antiquity  of 
the  poems. 

Take  one   example  from   Smith's    "Sean  Dana," 


I58  GAELIC  08SIAN. 

and  the  same  thing  appears ;  the  Gaelic  is  better  than 
the  English.  In  "  Tiomna  Ghuill,"  page  57,  is  this 
line — 

"  Sgaoth  eunlaith  air  steuda  saile;" 
and  it  is  translated  "by  the  English  line — 

"  A  flight  of  birds  on  the  briny  billows." 

As  it  seems  to  me,  the  beauty  of  the  line  is  thus  lost 
by  a  free  translation,  whereas  a  close  rendering  would 
preserve  its  meaning  better — 

"  A  skiff  of  birds  upon  steeds  of  brine." 

The  passage  describes  a  "  play  o5  fish,"  and  the 
Gaelic  line  conveys  to  me  the  idea  of  a  mass  of  sea 
birds  clustered  together,  and  riding  over  the  long 
smooth  waves  of  the  salt  ocean. 

It  is  a  true  picture  in  five  short  words,  which 
every  one  must  recognise  who  has  ever  watched  a 
clump  of  dark  razor-bills  huddled  together  under  a 
cliff  on  a  summer's  day.  As  each  long  Atlantic  wave 
comes  rolling  in,  the  birds  rise  on  the  crest,  and  sink 
into  the  hollow  trough,  and  the  wave  slips  under  and 
curls  over,  and  thunders  in  against  the  rocks  beyond— 
a  mass  of  broken  white  water ;  but  the  clump  of  birds 
are  on  their  "briny  steeds,"  and  they  know  how  to 
ride  them.  A  stroke  or  two,  and  they  paddle  out  into 
the  glassy  water  at  the  edge  of  the  surf,  and  tuck  their 
heads  under  their  wings  once  more,  and  sleep.  And 
there  they  will  rest  on  the  waves  for  hours,  beneath  a 
cliff,  riding  like  skiffs  (sgoth)  at  anchor  till  fishing 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE,  ETC.  1 59 

time  comes  again ;  and  then  they  are  up  and  off,  to 
ride  their  steeds  to  "battle  with  the  herring  king. 

Then  comes  a  sight  which  must  be  seen  to  be  ap- 
preciated. The  birds  gather  on  the  surface  in  masses ; 
great  whales  dash  up,  and  spout,  and  turn  over,  and 
dive  down  again,  leaving  the  sea  all  glittering  with 
scales,  and  foaming  and  surging  about  their  sides. 
The  diving  birds  scatter  and  flap  along  the  surface,  and 
scream  as  they  go  ;  great  green  cole-fish  leap  high  into 
the  air ;  gulls  and  terns  hang  over  head,  and  clatter, 
and  yell,  and  dart  down,  and  the  whole  do  their 
best  to  gobble  up  the  king  of  the  seas  as  fast  as  they 
can.  And  all  this  was  in  the  mind  of  the  man  who 
composed  the  passage,  in  which  the  rushing  of  Goll  to 
battle  is  compared  to  the  rush  of  the  whale,  and  his 
foes  to  the  scattered  birds.  And  to  my  mind  the 
Gaelic  tells  the  story  infinitely  better  than  the  Eng- 
lish, though  this  is  not  the  popular  ballad  poetry  now 
most  commonly  recited. 

This  is  my  own  opinion,  but  no  one  is  fit  to  judge 
whose  earliest  thoughts  were  not  framed  and  expressed 
in  Gaelic.  One  who  has  been  accustomed  to  hear  and 
speak,  and  to  read  all  sorts  of  jargons,  and  jump  at 
meaning  without  regard  to  grammar  or  spelling,  is  no 
fair  judge  of  a  written  language  in  which  he  does  not 
think ;  so  I  prefer  the  opinion  of  a  shoemaker  who 
reads  his  Gaelic  Bible,  and  has  a  multitude  of  Gaelic 
stories  in  his  head,  and  knows  very  little  about  any- 
thing else  beyond  his  last.     He  says — 

"  This  is  not  the  old  stuff" 


lÒO     GAELIC  POETRY  OP  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

I  also  prefer  the  opinion  of  a  man  who  began 
life  in  a  Highland  cottage,  and  lives  near  the  place 
where  he  was  born,  who  has  worked  at  Gaelic  books 
and  traditions,  and  studied  that  language,  and  has 
taught  himself  to  read  Tialf  a  dozen  more,  in  which 
he  reads  poetry ;  besides  acquiring  the  whole  of  Euclid, 
and  the  Differential  calculus,  and  a  good  many  "  ologies '» 
to  boot — a  man  who  thinks  for  himself  and  is  free 
from  national  prejudice  at  all  events. 


ON  THE  GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KÌNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 
PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.       (h.  MCLEAN.) 

"The  Gaelic  poems  which  were  published  in  1807, 
from  a  manuscript  in  the  handwriting  of  James  Mac- 
pherson,  differ  very  widely  indeed  from  those  which  are 
handed  down  by  tradition  ;  very  widely  indeed  from 
all  known  traditions  about  the  Fenian  heroes  current 
in  the  Highlands.  The  kingdom  of  Morven  is  un- 
known either  in  traditional  poems  or  stories.  These 
do  not  represent  the  Fenian  heroes  drinking  on  all 
occasions  out  of  shells,  they  frequently  drink  out  of 
vessels  of  gold  or  silver,  as  the  case  may  be.  The  tra- 
ditional Fionn  is  not  that  grave,  stately,  solemn,  osten- 
tatious, old  monarch  which  he  is  in  the  Ossian  published 
by  MacPherson;  but  a  being  of  more  human  sym- 
pathies, possessed  of  strong  feelings  and  passions — a 
hero  that  might  have  been  a  brave,  generous,  chieftain, 
who  was  not  entirely  free  from  the  frailties  that  flesh 
is  heir  to.     Popular  poetry  or  tradition  never  describes 


PUBLISHED  AOT  TRADITIONAL.  1 6  I 

him  as  a  venerable  old  monarch,  with  hoary  locks,  nor 
does  it  allude  to  his  being  aged,  or  weakened  by  old  age. 
The  death  of  all  the  other  Fenian  heroes  is  recorded, 
but  there  is  not  the  least  hint  given  of  Fionn's  death. 

He  is  said  to  have  been  occasionally  seen  in  Eilean 
na  h-oige,  the  island  of  youth,  also  called  an  t-Eilean 
uaine,  the  green  isle — an  island  which  Hebrideans 
believe  to  be  located  somewhere  west,  and  which  many 
of  them  believe  to  have  seen.  The  people  of  Islay 
believe  it  to  be  situated  west  of  Islay  of  course  ;  the 
people  of  Barra,  west  of  Barra ;  the  people  of  Uist,  west 
of  Uist ;  and  the  people  of  Harris,  west  of  Harris ; 
many  are  they  who  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  see 
this  blessed  island.  I  conversed  in  youth  myself  with 
old  people  who  did  see  it  off  from  Portnahaven,  in 
Islay,  on  a  fine  evening ;  but  I  have  never  yet  had  the 
good  fortune  to  see  it  myself  though  I  have  often  seen 
the  evening  clouds  piled  up  like  hills  on  the  horizon. 

It  is  told  that  a  Jura  man,  who  owned  a  small  ves- 
sel, once  met  a  man  on  the  pier  at  Greenock,  who 
engaged  the  ship  at  a  certain  freight,  to  carry  him 
and  a  cargo  to  the  westward  of  Islay.  The  bargain 
was  struck,  and  the  cargo  put  on  board,  and  they  sailed 
round  the  Mull  of  Cantire,  and  through  the  Sound  of 
Islay,  where  a  thick  fog  came  on.  They  got  through 
the  Sound  and  bore  away  to  the  westward,  and,  after  a 
few  days,  they  found  themselves  one  morning  close  to 
land.  They  cast  anchor  and  went  to  sleep,  and  when 
they  awoke  the  man  and  his  cargo  were  gone.  The 
Jura  skipper  did  not  like  to  lose  his  freight,  landed, 

and  walked  up  to  a  large  house,  where  he  found  "  sean 
vol.  rv.  H 


1 62     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

duine  mor  cròsgach" — a  large,  big-boned  old  man — 
seated  in  an  arm-chair,  who  offered  him  a  drink. 
The  drinking  vessels  were  so  large  that  the  skipper 
could  not  lift  them,  so  the  big  man  called  his  daughter 
to  give  him  a  draught,  and  a  girl  came  in  and  raised 
the  vessel  ("  soitheach  "),  and  he  took  a  long  drink  of 
beer.  He  told  his  story,  and  the  big  man  asked  him  if 
he  could  recognise  the  man  who  had  engaged  the  ship. 
He  said  he  could,  and  a  number  of  people  were  sent 
for,  and  passed  in  review  before  him.  At  last  the  de- 
linquent appeared,  and  was  recognised,  and  made  to  pay 
the  freight,  upon  which  he  thrust  his  finger  into  the 
skipper's  eye,  and  put  it  out,  saying,  "  If  I  had  done 
that  to  thee  before,  thou  wouldst  not  have  known  me."* 

The  inhabitants  then  made  the  Jura  men  brush 
every  particle  of  the  dust  of  the  island  from  their 
feet,  and  sent  them  away  with  their  money  ;  and  when 
they  sailed,  the  island  seemed  to  disappear  in  a  mist. 
This  Jura  man,  it  is  said,  was  well  known  afterwards, 
and  was  blind  of  an  eye,  and  the  big  man  is  supposed 
to  be  "  Fionn." 

In  Berneray,  near  Harris,  a  similar  story  is  told 
of  men  still  alive,  but  it  wants  much  of  the  marvellous 
element.  The  men,  as  it  is  said,  took  a  cargo  from 
Stornoway  to  an  island,  supposed  to  be  Eilean  uaine, 
the  green  isle.  They  sailed  westwards,  and  left;  the 
cargo,  part  of  which  was  salt,  got  their  money,  and 

*  There  is  a  popular  tale  known  all  over  Europe,  in  which  a 
mortal  acquires  the  power  of  seeing  immortals,  betrays  the  power 
by  speaking  to  one,  and  is  deprived  of  one  eye.  I  have  got  the 
story  in  many  shapes  from  the  Highlands. — J.  F.  C. 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 63 

returned,  after  being  required  by  the  inhabitants  to 
shake  off  every  particle  of  the  dust  of  the  island  which 
stuck  to  them. 

There  are  many  other  stories  current  relative  to 
these  islands,  "  Eilean  na  h'  oige,"  and  "  an  't-Eilean 
uaine,"  the  island  of  youth,  and  the  green  island, 
wherein  Fionn  is  supposed  still  to  dwell  with  his 
warriors.  * 

'  Blessed  were  they  who  could  get  to  this  Celtic  para- 
dise ;  for  were  they  to  land  they  would  become  as 
young  as  they  were  at  twenty ;  fresh  and  blooming, 
and  without  gray  hairs,  or  wrinkles,  or  ailments.  A 
more  comfortable  and  cheery  habitation  certainly  this 
would  be  than  the  MacPherson  "  Ossian's"  cloud 
palaces  and  mist  promenades ;  his  railways  of  moon- 
shine   rivalling  Mahomet's  narrow  bridge  across  the 

*  This  legend  is  very  like  that  of  Arthur,  who,  when  he  was 
sore  wounded,  sailed  off  in  a  boat  to  the  "Island  of  Avalon" 
(Gaelic,  "  avian,"  apples),  where  he  is  supposed  still  to  live. 

The  curious  ceremonies  performed  by  the  Hebrideans  when 
they  visited  the  Flannen  islands,  according  to  Martin,  pro- 
bably have  to  do  with  this  old  world  belief.  Flath-innis  is 
one  of  the  words  still  used  for  heaven.  It  means  the  hero's 
island,  and  Flath-innis-ean  might  easily  be  contracted  to  Flannen. 
There  is  a  chapel  on  these  uninhabited,  westernmost  of  western 
islands  which  is  of  great  and  unknown  antiquity ;  and  there  is 
a  chapel  on  nearly  every  western  island  in  Scotland  and  Ireland ; 
and  it  may  be  that  the  first  Christian  missionaries  planted  their 
churches  in  these  remote  corners  as  the  very  strongholds  of 
Paganism.  There  is  a  chapel  in  the  Shiant  islands,  which  I 
take  to  be  a  corruption  of  Eileanan  na  sithichean,  the  islands  of 
the  fairies  or  peaceful  people,  and  almost  every  small  island  to 
which  a  legend  is  attached,  such  as  the  haunted  island,  off  the 
RhinnB  of  Islay,  has  its  Christian  chapel  as  well. — J.  F.  C. 


164    GAELIC  POETRY  0*  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

gulf  to  paradise,  which,  though  not  broader  than  a 
needle,  the  faithful  trip  over  safely.  Although  the 
ancient  Hebrideans,  subsequent  to  the  Norwegian 
sway,  were  very  good  sailors,  and  sometimes  very  good 
pirates  also ;  as  ransacked  towns  and  villages  on  the 
mainland  could  well  testify,  they  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  over  fond  of  aerial  voyages  ;  but  preferred  to  stick 
to  salt-water  sailing,  and  chose  rather  to  hope  for  a 
retreat  in  some  pretty  green  mythical  western  island 
than  for  lofty  habitations  in  the  cold  frosty  regions  of 
the  upper  air. 

The  traditional  Fenian  poems  consist  of  pieces  of 
various  length,  interspersed  through  prose  narration ; 
both  poems  and  narration  constituting  what  is  usually 
called  "Eachd-raidh  na  Feuine,"  the  history  of  the 
Feinne.  The  prose  narrative  is  varied,  and  consists, 
at  one  time,  of  common  conversational  language,  at 
another  of  measured  prose,  a  species  of  composition 
midway  between  prose  and  verse.  Explanations  and 
genealogies  are  given  in  ordinary  conversational  lan- 
guage, as  well  as  other  minor  details  ;  exciting  circum- 
stances are  delineated  in  a  more  rhetorical  style,  while 
the  most  momentous  events,  such  as  are  mainly  con- 
nected with  a  great  and  important  action,  are  given  in 
verse.  The  verse  itself  varies  widely,  and  as  the  sub- 
ject is  more  elevated,  it  becomes  more  musical  and 
metrical.  The  terms  "duan,"  "dan,"  and  "laoidh," 
are  employed  to  distinguish  the  various  kinds  from  each 
other.  The  laoidh  (lay)  is  the  most  musical,  and  is 
generally  sung  to  a  simple,  plaintive  air.  In  the  greatest 
number  of  cases  it  describes  a  tragic  event,  the  death 


PUBLISHED  ARD  TRADITIONAL.  1 65 

of  a  hero,  or  some  other  serious  calamity.  These  poems 
are  connected  with  each  other  by  prose  narrative,  and 
stories,  so  as  to  make  something  like  one  united  whole 
of  the  Fenian  traditions.  All  these  poems,  are  of  a 
narrative  character,  dwelling  almost  entirely  either  on, 
human  or  superhuman  action,  and  never  referring  either 
to  animal  or  inanimate  nature  further  than  it  is  con- 
nected with  human  passion,  sympathy,  or  interest. 
There  are  no  long  addresses  to  the  inanimate  objects  of 
nature ;  neither  are  there  any  refined  speculations  on 
human  life  and  existence ;  there  are  no  sentimental 
speeches  on  fame  or  glory.  The  men  of  the  ballads 
fight  not  for  glory,  but  in  defence  of  some  disputed 
right,  or  to  avenge  an  insult,  or  to  resist  oppression,  or 
to  protect  a  woman  in  distress. 

In  these  lays,  similes  and  metaphors  are  very 
sparingly  used ;  but  this  appears  to  result  more  from 
the  intensity  of  interest  belonging  to  the  subject, 
than  to  want  of  power  on  the  part  of  the  poet ;  as 
similes  and  metaphors  are  very  plentiful  in  these  long 
epic  tales  which  treat  of  like  subjects.  This  will 
appear  readily  on  looking  over  "  The  Knight  of  the 
Eed  Shield,"  No.  lii.,  and  "  The  Slim  Swarthy  Cham- 
pion," No.  xvii.  C,  in  the  West  Highland  Tales.  The 
language  of  the  old  ballads  is  exceedingly  choice  Gaelic, 
pure,  idiomatic,  chaste.  There  is  no  trace  of  Anglicism, 
or  of  classic  idiom  ;  it  is  the  Gaelic  of  the  people,  but 
still  purer  and  more  elevated  than  that  of  common  con- 
versation, and  with  obsolete  words  interspersed.  Clear- 
ness and  conciseness  distinguish  these  from  the  great 
mass  of  published  Gaelic  poems  and  songs ;  which  bear 


1 66    GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

evident  marks  of  belonging  to  more  modern  periods, 
both  in  language  and  matter,  and  whose  authors  are 
known ;  very  few  of  the  more  modern  poems  being  at 
all  comparable  to  the  ballads  in  these  qualities.  These 
later  compositions  are  frequently  tautological,  and  pro- 
fuse in  epithets,  abounding  sometimes  in  long  tedious 
lists  of  adjectives  or  adverbs,  which  make  them  look 
more  like  a  vocabulary  than  a  regular  poem.  This  is 
the  case  with  regard  to  the  war  song  of  the  battle  of 
Harlaw,  composed  about  1411;  much  of  Coire  an  easain, 
composed  by  the  piobaire  dall,  or  blind  piper ;  some  of 
MacDonald's  Song  to  Summer ;  a  large  portion  of  his 
Moladh  Mhoraig  ;  much  of  Coire  Cheathaich  by  Mac- 
Intyre,  and  a  large  portion  of  his  Beinn  Dorain.  In 
these  poems  there  are  scarcely  any  words  to  be  found 
borrowed  from  English,  and  in  this  respect  they  form 
a  strong  contrast  to  all  that  has  been  published  of  the 
works  of  Scoto-Gaelic  poets  who  flourished  from  the 
fifteenth  century  down  to  the  present  day.  We  find 
the  word  puthary  power,  in  the  songs  of  MacMhuirich, 
Clanranald's  bard,  who  lived  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. In  the  songs  of  Mari,  nighean  Alastair  Euaidh 
(Mary,  daughter  of  Alexander  Roy)  MacLeod  of  Mac- 
Leod's bard,  we  find  the  English  corruptions,  purpas, 
purpose  ;  subsaint,  substance  ;  and  yet  her  songs  are,  and 
justly,  allowed  to  be  written  in  very  pure  Gaelic.  The 
peacock  figures  as  a  simile  also  in  one  of  her  songs.  In 
the  poems  of  John  MacDonald,  usually  styled  Iain 
lorn  (bare-faced  John,  from  his  beardless  face  and 
impudence),  who  lived  in  the  time  of  Montrose  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  we  meet  with  the  words  Lieutenant 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 67 

Lady  Murray,  Whitehall,  adbhannsa,  advance  ;  geard, 
guard.  In  the  songs  of  MacMhaighstir  Alastair,  who 
took  an  active  part  on  the  side  of  Prince  Charles  in 
1745,  we  find  the  words  standard — moision,  motion  ; 
canain,  cannon.  In  Maclntyre,  who  lived  at  the  same 
time  with  MacDonald,  we  meet  with  the  words 
coitseachan,  coaches  ;  deasput,  dispute  ;  phairti,  party. 
Such  words  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  traditional 
poems  ascribed  to  Ossian,  or  in  those  other  pieces  which, 
belong  to  the  same  class.  But  yet  in  every-day  conversa- 
tion nowadays,  we  find  such  words  as  chorner,  corner ; 
ghig,  gig ;  dhisturbadh,  disturbing ;  phortmanteau,  trunk, 
steamboat,  railroad,  story,  confoundadh,  drainadh, 
chaidsigeadh,  catching,  and  hundreds  of  other  distorted 
English  words  which  hardly  ever  find  their  way  into 
the  old  ballads,  though  constantly  used  by  the  people 
who  repeat  them.  Here  then  is  a  strong  contrast 
between  these  ancient  poems  and  the  works  of  those 
who  have  been  considered  the  best  bards  of  the  High, 
lands  for  the  last  three  centuries.  * 

In  comparing  these  ballads  with  the  compositions 
of  the  more  modern  bards,  the  dignified  simplicity  of 
the  language  of  the  former  becomes  quickly  apparent. 
Although  their  language,  so  far  as  regards  inflection 
and  structure,  is  modern,  yet  there  are  words  and 
phrases  which  appear  to  be  more  ancient,  and  which 
are  now  obsolete,  and  these,  as  well  as  the  absence  of 

*  It  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  published  Ossian,  and  the 
whole  of  the  suspected  class,  are  also  entirely  free  from  any  such 
words,  though  the  construction  of  the  language  is  different  from 
that  of  the  ballads.— J.  F.  G. 


1 68     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BAUDS, 

English  corruptions,  distinguish  them  from  all  other 
Scoto-Gaelic  poetry ;  and  with  regard  to  peculiar 
phrases,  and  curious  antiquated  words  and  expressions, 
they  strongly  resemble  the  popular  Gaelic  tales. 

The  offensive  weapons  described  are  spears,  "  crann- 
tabhaill"  swords,  and  darts  ;  there  is  hardly  an  allusion 
to  bows  and  arrows  ;  few  to  agriculture,  to  bread,  corn, 
or  to  any  kind  of  food  connected  with  an  agricultural 
life.  The  food  described  is  the  produce  of  the  chase. 
Deer  and  boars,  and  some  species  of  deer  which  does 
not  now  exist,  and  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  elk, 


The  Elk  (Norse,  Elg  ;  Lapp,  Sabv),  copied  from  "  The  Natural  History 
of  Norway,"  by  Pontoppidan,  Bishop  of  Bergen.  Gaelic,  according  to 
Armstrong,  Lon. 

Eilid,  according  to  translators  of  the  Bible,  "  Ossian,"  and  modern  poets, 
means  a  hind  or  roe.  "  Glen  Eilig,"  or  "  Glen  Elg,"  is  derived  from  this 
word.  The  Elk  exists  in  Sweden,  Norway,  and  Russia ;  its  skeleton  is 
found  in  Ireland,  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  elsewhere  in  the  United  King- 
dom.   It  is  supposed  to  have  existed  during  the  "  stone  period." 


PUBLISHED  Aim  TRADITIONAL.  1 69 

"  Lon,"  are  the  animals  generally  hunted ;  and  doga 
are  the  only  domestic  ftTn'mala  frequently  mentioned.* 
These  are  mentioned  with  as  much  affection  as 
Byron's  dog — that  animal,  so  faithful  and  so  true  to  man* 
which  has  never  been  convicted  either  of  treachery, 
insincerity,  or  ingratitude.  Byron,  Campbell,  and  the 
traditional  Ossian  agree  in  this.  The  events  related 
are  at  times  probable,  at  others  improbable  or  impos- 
sible ;  at  times  superhuman,  at  others  human,  which 
evidently  tends  to  shew  that  these  poems  unite  many 
periods,  and  that  probably  they  have  embodied  the 
substance  of  more  ancient  poems.  At  times  huge 
giants  and  weapons  are  mentioned,  such  as — 

Bha  seachd  troidhean  ann  air  Had, 
'S  ochd  troidhe  diag  air  fad  ann. 

Seven  feet  was  he  in  breadth, 
And  in  length  he  was  eighteen  feet. 

A  remarkable  feature  in  these  poems  is  the  mag- 
nanimity and  gallantry  which  distinguish  their  heroes, 
though  mixed  with  much  barbarism  and  fierceness. 
There  is  fair  play  given  to  the  enemy ;  and  when  he  is 
not  fighting  with  them,  he  is  invited  to  their  feast ; 
if  he  falls  in  battle  he  is  honourably  buried,  and 
receives  credit  for  his  bravery;  his  memory  is  cherished, 
esteemed,  and  loved,  for  his  valorous  deeds.  Women 
are  always  protected  and  treated  with  courtesy ;  nor  is 

*  In  this,  the  suspected  Ossian  resembles  the  traditional  bal- 
lads from  which  it  is  supposed  to  hare  been  taken. — J.  F.  C. 


I70     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

there  the  least  hint  given  that  they  were  either  kept 
in  bondage,  or  doomed  to  slavery;  on  the  contrary, 
their  wishes  seem  to  have  been  considered  as  something 
to  be  gratified,  but  never  to  be  contradicted ;  and 
yet  some  of  the  women  who  repeat  such  poems  work 
hard  as  field  labourers,  and  the  men  are  of  the  poorest 
classes. 

In  their  ballads  the  incidents  are  few,  but  elevated, 
and  the  narration  flows  along  in  an  easy,  simple,  but 
dignified  strain.  No  tedious  verbosity  mars  or  inter- 
rupts the  vigorous  current  of  the  poetic  stream. 
Bapidity  seems  to  have  been  the  chief  aim  of  the 
ancient  bards,  and  the  action  rolls  along  like  the  impe- 
tuous torrents  of  their  own  mountain  country.  There  is 
no  vagueness,  no  mistiness,  no  obscurity;  the  action  is 
as  vividly  clear  to  the  mind's  eye  as  a  landscape  is  to 
the  eye  itself  on  a  bright  summer  day.  The  introduc- 
tion is  always  abrupt  and  simple,  and  this  is  the  cha- 
racter of  mostly  all  Scoto-Gaelic  poetry ;  for  in  this 
manner  all  known  Gaelic  bards,  learned  and  unlearned, 
begin  their  songs  and  lays.  They  invoke  neither 
spirits  nor  muses,  but  begin  at  once.  If  these  ballads 
do  not  abound  in  long  sentimental  speeches,  still 
genuine  touches  of  true  feeling  are  to  be  found  most 
exquisitely  and  tersely  expressed.  In  a  warlike  age 
the  passions  are  strong,  and  not  often  under  proper 
restraint.  Strong  attachments  and  resentments  belong 
to  the  men  of  such  an  age.  They  are  by  turns  fiercely 
cruel  and  nobly  generous,  but  both  their  cruelty  and 
their  generosity  are  manifested  in  acts  rather  than  in 
words.     That  sentimentalism  which  is  rich  in  words 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 7  I 

and  poor  in  deeds  was  but  little  known  in  those  days. 
There  is  a  sentimentalism  which  is  after  all  but  a  poor 
shadowy  substitute  for  genuine  feeling.  It  showers 
oceans  of  tears  on  distress,  but  will  not  move  a  hand 
to  relieve  it ;  it  gives  soft  and  commiserating  words  to 
the  needful,  but  clings  firmly  to  its  gold  and  silver  ;  it 
pities  in  sighs,  but  not  in  sovereigns.  Sterne  wrote 
the  Sentimental  Journey^  and  lamented  in  dolorous 
strain  over  a  dead  ass,  but  he  allowed  his  poor  old 
mother  to  pine  away  in  prison,  and  advanced  not  a 
stiver  to  procure  her  liberty.  Though  these  lays  are 
void  of  this  tinsel,  they  possess  what  is  really  more 
valuable  —  truthful  delineation  of  human  nature,  of 
lofty  bravery,  and  of  true  and  real  feeling.  Popular 
poetry  has  no  morbid  sentiment,  and  the  people  are 
kind  to  each  other. 

Besides  the  ballads,  which  form  part  of  what  is 
usually  called  "  Eachdraidh  na  Feinne,"  the  history  of 
the  Feinn,  there  are  numerous  traditional  ballads  and 
scraps  of  poetry  similar  to  them  in  character,  which 
treat  of  giants,  enchantments,  and  supernatural  deeds ; 
some  which  treat  of  fairies,  and  fairy  lovers ;  some,  of 
the  loves  of  men  and  women.  Short  passages,  stanzas, 
and  lines  of  poetry,  ascribed  to  Ossian,  are  even  still 
recited  through  a  great  many  parts  of  the  Highlands, 
and  tales  about  the  Feinn,  interspersed  with  verse,  are 
yet  to  be  heard  in  many  districts  from  old  men.  There 
are  very  few  old  Highlanders  that  cannot  even  now 
say  something  about  Fionn  and  his  heroes  ;  how  they 
fought  and  died.  Proverbs,  old  sayings,  and  puzzles, 
are  connected  with  their  names.     A  proverb,  which  is 


172     GAELIC  POETRY  COT  KNOWtf  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS,' 

heard  at  almost  all  convivial  Highland  meetings,  ia 
"  Cha  do  dhiochoimhnich  Fionn  fear  a  dheas  laimh 
riamh,"  Fionn  never  forgot  his  right  hand  man* 
Bocks,  hills,  streams,  and  places  are  called  after  the 
Feinne.  Surnames  are  derived  from  them ;  such  as 
MacDhiarmaid,  the  son  of  Diarmaid ;  MacGhill  Fha- 
olan,  the  son  of  the  servant  of  Faolan  (MacLellan) ; 
MacGhill  Earragain,  the  son  of  the  servant  of  Earragan 
(MacLergan);  MacOisean,  the  son  of  Oisean;  Mao 
Cuinn,  the  son  of  Conn  (MacQueen)  ;  and  generally  the 
Feinne  and  their  exploits  pervade  all  Celtic  Scotland 
and  all  Gaelic  tradition. 

If  these  poems  be  not  ancient  in  substance,  how  is 
it  that  they  differ  so  widely  from  the  works  of  the  best 
of  the  modern  Scoto- Gaelic  bards?  How  is  it  that  they 
have  not  mixed  up  with  other  songs  and  poems]  How 
is  it  that  guns,  powder,  and  modern  dresses  have  not 
crept  in  Ì  How  is  it  that  we  have  no  lieutenants,  cap* 
tains,  and  colonels,  dukes,  marquises,  and  earls  amongst 
the  Feinn  Ì  How  is  it  that  we  have  none  of  the 
scriptural  allusions  and  quotations  which  are  scattered 
so  plentifully  through  the  works  of  Gaelic  poets  in 
general  ?  How  is  it  that  we  have  nothing  new  in  the 
ballads,  while  prose  tales  have  altered  with  the  age  Ì 
We  might  expect  that  modern  poets  would  have  armed 
Fionn  with  a  musket,  or  culverin ;  or  even  have  made 
him  and  his  followers  use  cannon.  I  heard  a  story 
told  of  Fergus  the  First,  king  of  Scotland,  in  Barra,  in 
which  that  ancient  monarch  was  armed  with  a  gun ; 
strange  that  the  Barra  people  never  thought  of  arming 
Fionn  and  Diarmaid  with  one  a-piece,  more  especially 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 7  3 

as  these  warriors  are  much  more  popular  in  that  island 
than  Fergus  the  First. 

Much  of  the  groundwork  of  these  "ballads,  as  well 
as  the  substance  of  many  Fenian  tales  and  traditions, 
are  embodied  in  the  Gaelic  Ossian  published  from 
MacPherson's  manuscript,  but  there  everything  has 
undergone  an  entire  change.  We  have  no  longer  the 
simplicity  of  the  traditional  poems ;  smoothness  of  ver- 
sification is  almost  entirely  wanting,  and  the  idiom  of 
the  language  is  every  now  and  then  violated  Inver- 
sions abound,  such  as  we  find  in  learned  English  poetry, 
and  words  are  so  wrenched  out  of  their  usual  meaning 
as  to  be  unintelligible  to  the  generality  of  Highlanders ; 
but  while  this  is  the  case,  there  are  but  few  ancient 
or  obsolete  words.  In  this  respect  this  Gaelic  contrasts 
with  that  of  traditional  ballads.  The  difficulty  of 
understanding  the  epic  poems  does  not  lie  in  ancient 
forms  of  speech,  or  in  old  obsolete  words,  but  in  the 
strange  liberty  that  is  taken  with  words  by  using  them 
in  quite  a  new  way,  and  in  arranging  them  in  a  man- 
ner that  is  incomprehensible  to  those  whose  native 
language  the  Gaelic  is,  unless  they  happen  to  know 
English,  or  some  classical  tongue.  In  many  lines  the 
words  only  are  Gaelic ;  the  structure  has  nothing  to 
do  with  that  language.  The  semtences  may  be  Eng- 
lish, or  Latin,  or  Greek,  may,  in  fact,  be  specimens  of 
a  new  universal  language,  but  they  are  not  Gaelic. 
Vagueness  and  obscurity  abound  everywhere,  and  like 
the  darkness  of  night  which  makes  hills  and  dales 
appear  like  lofty  mountains  and  deep  ravines,  these 
poems  impress  a  person,  before  he  has  examined  what 


174    GAELIC  POETBT  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

he  has  been  reading,  with  something  akin  to  sublimity. 
Some  lines  prove  to  be  nonsense  when  closely  exa- 
mined. Bad  grammar  and  violated  idiom  abound 
everywhere.  Adjectives  of  more  than  one  syllable  are 
placed  before  substantives,  which  is  much  the  same  as 
if  we  were  to  say  in  English,  "There  is  a  horse  beau- 
tiful ;  0  what  a  house  elegant ! " 

Heroes  always  drink  out  of  shells,  lead  a  hunting 
life,  and  address  one  another  more  like  modern  sages 
than  barbarians.  A  teacher  of  ethics  could  not  be 
more  sententious  or  moralizing  than  they  are. 

"  Maile"  for  mail  is  a  frequent  term,  but  it  is  a  mere 
English  corruption  ;  luireach  is  the  Gaelic  word.  On 
reading  a  line,  containing  this  word,  to  an  acquaint- 
ance, he  understood  it  to  mean  màl,  the  bag  of  the 
bagpipes.  This  word  does  not  occur  in  the  popular 
poems,  and  is  hardly  known  to  Highlanders  in  general, 
in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  used  here.  Endless  pas- 
sages might  be  quoted  to  illustrate  the  preceding  state- 
ments. 

In  Carthonn,  page  55,  occurs  the  line — 

"  Tri  giubhais  ag  aomadh  o'n  torr." 

This  is  exactly  what  might  occur  to  a  person  translating 
the  English  expression  "  three  firs,"  but  no  name  of  any 
species  of  wood  is  ever  used  in  Gaelic  to  designate  a 
tree ;  we  must  say — 

"  Tri  craobha  giubhais,"  three  fir  trees,  and  so  with 
other  trees.     It  is  bad  Gaelic  to  say — 

"  An  cluaran  glas  air  chrom  nan  earn." 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 75 

The  green  thistle  on  the  bend  of  the  cairns ;  for 
"  crom"  is  never  used  as  a  substantive,  and  means 
"bent" 

"  Mall  ag  aomadh  mu  uaigh  an  t-seoid." 

(Slow  inclining  about  the  grave  of  the  hero)  is  bad 
Gaelic.  Mall  in  this  line  would  require  gu  before  it 
to  make  it  an  adverb,  and  good  Gaelic. 

"  Tha  mo  chlaidheamh  crith  mhosgladh  gu  cheann." 

My  sword  is  shaking  waking  to  its  hilt.  This  line, 
as  printed,  is  nonsense,  but  the  idea  of  a  sword  quiver- 
ing and  awaking  is  good,  and  a  small  change  would 
make  the  line  Gaelic. 

In  Gaol  nan  daoine,  page  75,  the  following  line 
occurs  : — 

"  Gu  Selma  nan  lan-bhroilleach  oigh." 

Lan-bhroilleach  is  here  placed  before  the  substan- 
tive, which  is  incorrect,  and  very  bad  Gaelic ;  the  term 
is  altogether  very  awkward,  for  were  we  to  say,  "  nan 
oigh  lan-bhroilleach,"  it  might  convey  the  meaning  of  a 
maiden  full  of  breasts,  instead  of  full-breasted;  but 
there  is  a  Gaelic  expression  commonly  used  to  convey 
the  idea  intended. 

"  Dh'  aom  a  shleagh  ri  carraig  nan  cos  "  is  bad. 

"  Aom  "  implies  motion  into  an  inclined  position, 
and  this  line  means  "  his  spear  toppled  towards  the  rock 
of  crannies,"  not  "  his  spear  leant  against  a  mossy  rock," 
which  the  context  shews  was  the  intended  meaning. 


176    GAELIC  POETRT  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

In  p.  108  of  Fingal  occurs  the  line — 

"  Cuchullin  nan  gorm-bhallach  sgiath." 

Cuchullin  of  the  shields  blue  spotted,  which  arrange- 
ment of  words  violates  Gaelic  idiom. 
Duan  4th,  p.  264  of  Tighmora — 

"  Thainig  i  le  suilibh  caoin, 
A  measg  chiabh  a  bha  taomadh  gu  trom." 

"  She  came  with  mild  eyes  among  locks  that  were 
pouring  out  heavily."  These  lines  make  no  sense  either 
in  English  or  in  Gaelic,  but  they  are  intended  to  de- 
scribe mild  eyes  amongst  flowing  locks. 

Tighmora  Duan  7,  p.  507 — 

"  Tha  'n  speur  an  losgadh  nan  reul,"  means — 

"  The  sky  is  in  the  burning  of  the  stars,"  but  is 
probably  intended  to  mean  that  the  sky  is  in  a  blaze 
with  stars. 

Carthonn,  p.  63. 

"  Chunnaic  oigh  nan  uchd  glana  na  trein,"  means — 

"The  maiden  of  the  clean  chests  saw  the  heroes." 

"Thaom  iad  sa'  chèile  sa'  bhlar,"  means,  to  a 
modern  Highland  ear,  "  They  poured  themselves  out 
into  each  other  in  the  battle." 

These  are  a  few  examples  of  passages  which  seem 
to  me  obscure,  improper,  or  nonsensical ;  they  might  be 
multiplied  considerably. 

The  language  of  the  printed  Ossian  of  1807  differs 
entirely  from  that  of  the  traditional  ballads  now  ascribed  1 
to  Ossian;  it  differs  entirely  from  that  of  other  pub-< 
lished  Scoto-GaeKc  poetry,  except  Dr.  Smith's  Seam 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 7  7 

Dana,  Mordubh,  and  a  few  other  pieces  published  by 
Gillies,  Stewart,  MacCallum,  etc.,  and  the  language 
appears  to  be  more  tinged  with  foreign  idioms  even 
than  Sean  Dana,  or  any  other  Gaelic  publication  which 
I  have  read,  Mordubh  and  some  modern  translations 
from  English  only  excepted ;  it  diners  entirely  from 
Gaelic  as  spoken  at  present  in  the  Highlands ;  and  it  '* 
diners  entirely  from  that  of  the  Irish  Ossianic  poems 
which  have  been  published  by  the  Irish  Ossianic  Society. 
All  these  have  a  common  bond,  a  common  idiom,  a 
common  structure,  though  they  differ  in  minutiae,  and 
the  common  general  idiom  is  seldom  violated  by  any  of 
these. 

Lastly,  the  Gaelic  of  1807  differs  from  any  speci- 
mens of  ancient  Gaelic  which  I  have  seen,  but  there 
are  some  passages  in  it  which  strike  me  as  good  speci- 
mens of  Gaelic  and  of  poetry. 

On  examining  other  Gaelic  poetry  which  has  been 
published,  it  will  be  observed  that  it  undergoes  a  gradual 
change  in  character  from  the  more  modern  to  the  more 
ancient.  The  style  and  language  alter  as  poems  recede 
from  the  present  day,  and  .  it  may  be  rf  some  inte- 
rest  to  the  English  reader  to  know  something  of  this 
class  of  Gaelic  poetry,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to 
give  a  short  account  of  some  few  of  the  best  known 
bards,  and  of  a  few  of  their  works  which  bear  upon 
Ossian. 

We  have  Gaelic  bards  even  in  our  own  day,  and 

these  describe  the  life  and  manners  which  they  observe 

around  them — the  dress,  arms,  food,  drink,  and  habits 

of  the  day.     Peasant  bards  are  by  no  means  extinct  in 
vol.  rv.  N 


178     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

the  Highlands,  and  if  their  compositions  be  not  poetry 
of  any  great  merit,  they  generally  contain  good  sense 
and  sprightly  humour  couched  in  pretty  smooth  verse. 
Almost  every  Highland  district  has  even  yet  a  bard, 
who  enjoys  a  fair  amount  of  renown  in  his  own 
neighbourhood,  and  among  his  own  class.  Hector 
Boyd,  who  narrated  to  me  so  many  tales,  is  reputed  a 
bard  in  Barra ;  in  North  Uist,  Christian  Macdonald,  of 
whom  I  received  several  tales,  is  highly  esteemed  as  a 
poetess.  I  was  recommended  to  call  on  a  man  near 
Stornoway  who  is  rather  famous  in  Lewis,  and  whose 
name  reached  me  even  in  Barra,  a  hundred  miles  away. 
I  know  some  even  in  my  own  neighbourhood  in  Islay, 
though  I  have  been  told  somewhere  that  Islay  never 
produced  a  bard.  To  this  I  replied,  that  probably  that 
was  because  the  calling  was  not  now  respected  there ; 
as  a  proverb  current  in  the  island  would  lead  us  to 
infer  : — 

"  Bard,  a's  ceard,  a's  filidh." 

A  bard,  a  tinker,  and  a  musician,  which  is  the 
meaning  of  these  words  in  Islay  now. 

In  examining  the  works  of  modern  Gaelic  bards,  we 
find  that  figures  and  phrases,  nay  entire  verses,  have  been 
considered  common  property.  The  same  similes  and 
phrases  are  used  by  all ;  and  sometimes  a  new  song  is 
but  an  old  one  with  new  names  and  a  few  alterations. 
An  old  song  seems  to  have  been  considered  good 
material  for  a  new  one,  exactly  as  the  stones  of  an  old 
house  are  taken  to  erect  another,  and  Druidical  circles 
are  broken  up  to  make  farm-steadings. 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  I  79 

It  was  quite  a  custom  in  the  Highlands)  and  that 
not  long  ago,  to  meet  for  the  purpose  of  composing  verses. 
These  were  often  satirical,  and  any  one  who  happened  not 
to  be  popular,  was  fixed  upon  for  a  subject.  Each  wag 
to  contribute  his  stanza,  and  whoever  failed  to  do  his 
part  was  fined.  Whenever  a  verse  happened  to  be 
composed  that  was  pretty  smooth  and  smart,  it  took 
well,  as  might  be  expected,  and  spread  far  and  wide 
like  illnatured  satire  elsewhere.  An  exact  counterpart 
of  this  custom  prevailed  amongst  the  ancient  Icelanders, 
many  of  whom  were  descended  from  men  who  emigrated 
from  the  islands  where  the  custom  still  survives.  The 
Burning  of  "  Njal,"  whose  name  is  now  a  common  one 
in  the  Highlands,  and  is  pronounced  nearly  according  to 
the  English  value  of  these  letters,  took  place  in  1011, 
and  many  of  the  tragical  events  recorded  in  the  "  Njal 
Saga  "  grew  out  of  a  ballad  composed  and  sung  at  a 
meeting  of  neighbours  in  the  house  of  Gunnar  of 
Litherende.* 

Stanzas  were  at  times  added  to  old  songs,  and  others 
were  altered,  but  such  alterations  were  not  often  suc- 
cessful, as  old  men  and  knowing  critics  objected.  It 
was  only  when  they  possessed  superior  merit  that  they 
passed  current;  but  as  the  Highlanders  have  a  great 
veneration  for  their  old  ballads,  any  alterations  made 
upon  tjiem  gave  offence,  and  were  rejected  with  indig- 
nation.     This   spirit  must  have  helped   to   preserve 

these. 

Eecent  Gaelic  songs  describe  the  manners  of  our 

own  times,  the  dresses,  arms,  and  professions  of  the 
*  Story  of  Burnt  Njal,  vol.  i.,  136. 


l8o    GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

day,  but  allude  to  past  ages,  and  often  mention  the 
Feinne  as  well-known  heroes. 

Among  the  latest  bards,  some  of  whose  works  have 
been  published  in  the  Beauties  of  Gaelic  Poetry,  ìb 
Donald  MaoDonald,  who  was  born  in  Strathmore, 
Boss-shire,  in  the  year  1 780,  and  who  died  of  cholera 
in  1832.  Two  of  his  songs  only  are  published,  one  to 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  and  another  to  his  sweetheart. 
In  the  song  to  his  sweetheart,  figure  the  words  parson 
and  seisoin.  It  is  full  of  amorous  sentiment;  he  must 
die  without  his  sweetheart ;  the  silver  of  Europe  and 
the  gold  of  Egypt  would  not  avail  without  her. 

The  song  to  Bonaparte  begins  in  rather  a  lofty 
strain  ;  the  bard  stands  on  the  pavement  of  Edinburgh 
and  sees  the  banners  flaming  in  the  sun  ;  he  hears  the 
guns,  and  he  stays  listening  to  them ;  he  hears  the  echo 
of  the  rocks  replying  to  them  with  joy  ;  he  hears  music 
in  every  house ;  he  sees  bonfires  on  the  hills.  It  is 
heard  from  the  gasaidean  (gazettes),  read  everywhere, 
that  Bonaparte  had  to  fly.  Bigh  Deorsa,  Caesar  and 
his  legions,  the  most  of  the  Highland  clans,  the  ten 
plagues  of  Egypt,  Fontenoi,  Morair  Hundaidh,  Diuc 
Earraghael,  Diuc  Mhontrose,  Hanobher,  chomannda 
(command),  retreat,  are  names  and  words  that  embellish 
this  modern  Gaelic  lay. 

Alexander  MaoKinon  is  another  bard  that  was 
nearly  contemporary  with  the  preceding.  He  was  born 
in  Morar,  Arisaig,  in  the  year  1770,  served  in  the  9 2d 
regiment,  and  fought  in  the  battle  of  Alexandria,  where 
he  received  three  severe  wounds,  which  disabled  him 
for  any  future  service.     He  died  at  Fort- William  in 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 8  I 

1814,  at  the  age  of  44.  His  songs  are  composed  on 
the  army,  and  on  the  battles  fought  between  the  French 
and  British.  He  is  extremely  fluent  in  language,  and 
his  verse  is  very  smooth.  He  seems  to  have  been 
desirous  of  writing  pure  Gaelic,  and  avoiding  English 
words ;  for  Sidney  Smith  is  called  Mac  a  Ghobha, 
Smith's  son ;  but  for  all  that  we  have  comisari.  He 
compares  Abercrombie  to  Fionn— not  Fingal : 

"  Mar  Fhionn  a*  mosgladh  sluaigh," 
"  like  Fionn  arousing  hosts." 

The   names   Alexandria,   Aboukeir,   Abercrombie, 
occur.    'Sasunn,  England,  is  mentioned  as  a  place, 

"  Far  am  faigh  sin  leann  am  pailteas." 
"  Where  we  shall  get  ale  in  plenty." 

The  poet  describes  the  shock  of  battle  with  graphic 
vividness,  and  speaks  like  an  eye-witness. 

The  style  of  Ewan  MacLaohlin,  though  he  was 
classically  educated,  and  composed  in  four  languages, 
does  not  differ  much  from  that  of  the  other  Gaelic 
bards  ;  whom  he  seems  to  imitate  closely.  Though  he 
helped  to  prepare  the  Gaelic  Ossian  for  the  press,  and 
transcribed  many  old  manuscripts  into  the  Roman 
hand,  he  has  taken  very  good  care  not  to  imitate  the 
Gaelic  of  the  Ossian  of  1807,  in  the  least,  in  his  songs. 
These  are  composed  in  pure  and  beautiful  Gaelic ; 
though,  like  the  most  of  the  Gaelic  bards,  he  indulges 
in /excess  of  epithets,  many  of  his  lines  consisting  of 
strings  of  adjectives  or  adverbs.  PJwebus,  Bhenus  and 
Eolus  lent   their  aid  to   the  well-instructed   classical 


l8l     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

b  Gaelic  bards,  as  they  do  to  the  classical  bards  of  other 
countries.  Though  the  poet  apparently  has  endeavoured 
to  keep  English  out  as  much  as  possible,  still  he  has 
failed,  for  a  few  English  words  have  entered,  such  as 
pocar,  will  be  packed  ;  sign,  for  one  of  the  signs  of  the 
Zodiac. 

John  Shaw,  Loch  Nell's  bard,  was  born  1758,  and 
died  1828.  Among  his  songs  is  one  to  Fionnla 
Marsanta,  Finlay  the  merchant,  who  seems  to  have  had 
some  antiquarian  taste,  and  who  dug  up  some  old 
Druidical  burying  places,  Cam  nan  Druidhneach,  the 
Druid's  Cairn.  Of  this  act  the  poet  expresses  his 
disapprobation,  and  denounces  Finlay  for  his  conduct  in 
very  bitter  words.  There  is  a  song  to  Bonaparte,  whom 
the  bard  defies  in  strong  language,  enumerating  the 
brave  soldiers  that  were  to  meet  him  on  British  ground, 
and  telling  the  hero  of  Marengo  how  he  was  to  be 
treated;  by — 

"  Na  shracas  t-eanchainn  agus  t  f  heoil, 
Those  who  will  rend  thy  brain  and  thy  flesh." 

A  very  pretty  love  song  is  also  amongst  his  composi- 
tions. 

We  have  in  the  song  of  Finlay  a  description  of 
blasting  rocks  with  gunpowder,  which  seems  to  have  a 
double  meaning. 

Bhi  cuir  fudair  aims  na  creagan, 
Chuireadh  e  eagal  air  bocain; 
Bhi  gan  tolladh  leis  an  tora, 
8*  bhi  gan  sparradh  leis  na  h-ordan. 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 83 

Putting  powder  into  rocks, 
It  would  terrify  the  bogles 
To  bore  them  with  the  jumper, 
To  be  driving  them  with  hammers. 


Tobacco  comes  in  also 

"Tha  Dughall  trom  air  an  tombaca" 
Dugald  is  heavy  on  the  tobacco. 

The  narrators  of  stories  and  reciters  of  verses  in  the 
Highlands  are  generally  fond  of  the  weed ;  one  story- 
teller makes  a  raven  chew  tobacco,  but  no  reciter  of 
Fenian  poetry  ever  makes  Fionn,  Diarmaid,  or  Goll 
use  the  weed  in  any  shape.  The  following  English 
corruptions  occur  in  the  songs  of  this  bard — bhaigeir 
(beggar) ;  bhlastidh  (blasting),  fudair  (powder),  reisimeid 
(regiment),  volunteers ;  and  the  dress  of  the  volunteers 
of  that  period  is  concisely  and  graphically  described. 
Boinneidean,  bonnets;  cotaichean sgarlaid,  scarlet  coats; 
suaicheantas  an  righ,  the  king's  arms ;  cocard  de  dh' 
ite  'n  eoin,  cockade  of  the  bird's  feather ;  and  this  is  a 
true  description  of  the  dress  of  that  period. 

There  is  an  allusion  to  a  well-known  weapon  of  a 
preceding  age  which  had  fallen  into  disuse,  to  the 
poet's  regret ; — for  he  says — 

'S  na  'm  biodh  againn  mar  bu  dual  duinn, 
Lann  chinn  Ilich  air  ar  cruachain, 
A  sgoltadh  an  ceann  gan  guaillean, 
Ga  'm  bualadh  le  smuais  nan  dorn. 

Oh  had  we  as  we  ought  to  have 
Islay-hilted  blades  upon  our  thighs, 


184  GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

Could  cleave  their  heads  down  to  the  chine, 
To  smite  them  with  the  pith  of  fista 

Allan  MacDougall,  Ailean  dall,  was  born  1750, 
and  died  1829.  One  of  his  songs  is  to  Glengary. 
€i  Luchd  bhreacan  an  f  heilidh."  Those  of  the  tartan 
dresses  (now  called  belted  plaids)  are  mentioned  as 
those  that  would  rise  with  Glengary  their  chief 
"  Fuaim  f  headan,"  the  sound  of  chanters,  and  "  binneas 
theud,"  the  melody  of  strings,  are  mentioned  as  pleasing 
to  the  chie£  who  therefore  enjoyed  pipe  music,  and 
that  of  stringed  instruments.  In  his  songs  to  the 
shepherds,  who  were  not  favourites  with  the  poet,  he 
says  of  them  that  they  have  a  Lowland  screech  in  their 
throats  crying  after  their  dogs,  and  earnestly  desires  to 
keep  them  out,  and  not  let  their  nose  in,  the  reason 
being  given  in  the  following  lines  : — 

"  Bho  nach  cluinnear  aca  stori, 
Ach  craicinn  agus  cloimh  ga  reic, 
Cunntadh  na  h-  aimsir,  's  gach  uair 
Ceannach  nan  uan  mu  'n  teid  am  breith." 

Since  no  tale  is  heard  with  them, 
But  of  skins  and  wool  to  sell, 
Telling  the  seasons  and  every  weather, 
Buying  the  lambs  before  they  are  born. 

This,  then,  was  not  an  age  of  pastoral  Gaelic  poetry,  and 
the  poet  seems  to  have  foreseen  what  has  happened. 

The  poet  has  a  song  to  whisky  also,  in  which  he 
dwells  on  the  wonderful  virtues*  of  that  drink  like  a  man 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 85 

who  likes  it  "  It  is  delightful  music  to  hear  its  murmur 
coming  out  of  the  stoup,  heaping  the  cuach ;  excellent 
to  excite  to  dancing  in  the  winter  time ;  it  would  make 
an  old  man  hold  up  his  head ;  it  will  make  a  soldier 
of  the  coward ;  it  will  "bring  out  conversation  at  meeting 
and  assembling ;  it  is  an  unblundering  physician ;  the 
children  of  the  Gael  have  no  disease  or  ailment  that  it 
will  not  heaL"  But  there  is  another  song  composed  to 
drunkenness,  in  which  the  serious  effects  of  the  favour- 
ite cordial  are  very  feelingly  expressed.  The  whole 
drinking  bout  is  delineated  with  great  animation.  The 
man  loses  his  strength  ;  his  sight  fails  ;  coming  home 
in  the  dark  he  falls  on  his  back  in  the  midden.  Morn- 
ing brings  disgrace ;  his  breast  is  in  flames,  the  rest 
carrying  him  home,  believing  all  the  time  he  was 
strong ;  till  at  last  he  had  lost  his  wits.  After  this 
come  reflections  on  the  folly  of  drinking  and  of  empty- 
ing the  purse.  So  modern  Gaelic  bards  have  been 
given  to  moralizing,  and  jollity,  war,  and  love-making, 
but  so  far  there  is  nothing  in  their  compositions  like 
the  Fenian  ballads,  or  the  sentimental  poems  concern- 
ing their  heroes  whose  authors  are  unknown. 

William  Eoss  was  born  in  Broadford,  parish  of 
Strath,  Isle  of  Skye,  1762;  and  died  in  1790.  He 
was  grandson,  by  the  mother's  side,,  to  another  cele- 
brated bard,  known  as  the  blind  piper.  At  school  he 
studied  the  classical  languages,  and  in  his  songs  the 
polish  of  the  man  of  education  may  be  traced,  as  his  style 
is  refined  and  cultivated,  though  remarkably  natural  and 
easy.  The  reader  may  perceive,  without  much  diffi- 
culty, that  he  exerted  his  utmost  endeavours  to  write 


1 


1 86     GAELIC  POETBY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

his  native  language  with  purity  and  elegance.  In  his 
poetry  we  trace  something  like  the  gay,  amorous  strain 
of  Moore,  though  not  his  richness  of  fancy  ;  the  spirit 
of  the  classical  poets  may  be  readily  traced  in  his 
verses.  Some  passages  in  his  love  songs  are  real  gems, 
the  force  of  the  following  lines  could  not  easily  be 
rendered  in  translation  : — 

Tha  deirge  *s  gile, 
Co-mhire  gleachdanaich, 
ETa  gnuis  ghil  eibhinn 
Einn  ceudan  airtneulach. 

The  following  gives  the  idea,  but  the  spirit  is 
gone  : — 

"  In  her  fair  blythesome  face,  which  has  made 
hundreds  long  and  grieve  for  love,  the  red  and  white 
are  sporting  with  each  other,  and  gently  struggling  for 
mastery." 

The  Gaelic  diminutives  which  make  this  verse  so 
pretty,  have  no  English  equivalents. 

He  composed  an  elegy  on  the  death  of  Prince 
Charles,  whom  he  calls  "An  suaithneas  ban,"  the 
white  badge.  This  elegy  shews  how  deep  the  feeling 
of  attachment  to  that  unfortunate  scion  of  an  unfortu- 
nate house,  had  sunk  into  the  hearts  of  the  poet  and 
his  countrymen.  The  following  are  a  couple  of  stanzas 
from  this  pathetic  poem  : — 

Nis  cromaidh  na  cruitearan  grinn 
Am  barraibh  dhos  fo  sprochd  an  cinn  ; 
Gach  beo  bhiodh  ann  an  strath  na  'm  beinn 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 8  7 

A*  caoidh  an  co'-dhosgainn  leinn. 

Tha  gach  beinn,  gach  enoc,  's  gach  sliabh, 

Air  am  faca  sinn  thu  triall, 

JSTis  air  call  an  dreach  's  am  fiamh, 

0  nach  tig  thu  chaoidh  nan  cian. 

Now  the  sweet  lyrists  will  bow 
Their  heads  on  the  tree-tops  in  woe  ; 
All  that  live  on  hill  op  plain 
Their  common  loss  with  us  bewaiL 
Every  hill,  and  mount,  and  moor, 
Upon  which  we  saw  thee  move, 
Now  have  lost  their  sheen  and  beauty, 
For  thou  wilt  not  come  back  for  aye. 

This  differs  widely  from  the  spirit  and  metre  of 
Ossian,  both  traditional  and  published. 

The  Highland  dress  is  a  favourite  theme  with  Boss, 
as  with  other  Gaelic  bards.  In  a  song,  which  fits  the 
music  of  a  reel,  he  rejoices  over  the  Act  of  Parliament 
which  repealed  the  Act  forbidding  the  national  costume, 
and  gives  a  glimpse  of  Highland  manufactures,  which 
still  survive  in  spite  of  spinning  jennies.     He  says — 

Thainig  fasan  anns  an  achd 

A  dh'  ordaich  pailt  am  feileadh ; 

Tha  eiridh  air  na  breacanan 

Le  farum  treun  neo-lapanach. 

Bidh  oighean  thapaidh  sniomh  's  a  dath, 

Gu  h-eibhinn  ait  le  uaill ; 

Gach  aon  diu  'g  eideadh  a  gaoil  fein 

Mar  's  reidh  le1  anns  gach  uair. 


1 88     GAELIC  POETRY  OP  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

A  fashion  has  come  with  the  Act 
That  ordered  kilts  in  plenty  ; 
There's  raising  of  the  tartan  plaid 
With  dextrous  busy  noise. 
Smart  maidens  now  will  spin  and  dye, 
With  mirth  and  fun  and  pride ; 
Each  one  adorning  her  own  true  love 
As  always  is  her  joy. 

This  bard  has  also  a  song  to  whisky,  and  another 
to  u  Macnabracha,"  the  son  of  malt.  Whisky  is  drink, 
par  excellence,  which  would  raise  the  mind  to  polite- 
ness ;  and  not  "  druaib  na  Fra-inge,"  the  trash  of 
France,  by  which  he  means  wine  ;  it  will  make  the 
maidens  speak,  however  modest ;  it  will  put  gentleness 
in  the  boy  ;  it  will  make  the  carl  amorous.  An  t  Olla 
Maclain,  Dr.  Johnson,  according  to  the  bard,  took  a 
glass  of  it  himself,  notwithstanding  his  Greek  and 
Latin,  and  thereby  impaired  the  power  of  his  tongue. 

"  Dh'  fhag  mac  na  bracha  e  gun  lide, 
Na  amadan  liotach  dalL" 

Mac  malt  has  made  him  speechless, 
A  thick-speaking  blinded  fool. 

Classical  names  are  interspersed  through  all  his 
compositions,  while  Greek  and  Roman  deities  are 
favourites.  Phcebus  gilds  the  mountains,  Flora  covers 
each  hill  and  dale  with  flowers  ;  his  sweethearts  have 
all  the  qualities  of  Diana ;  Cupid  throws  his  arrows 
with  a  lavish  hand ;  the  flames  excited  by  the  love- 
god  are  to  be  quenched  only  by  yielding  to  Venus  and 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 89 

Apollo  ;  and  the  nine  play  their  part  But  English 
corruptions  are  not  to  be  found,  and  the  Gaelic  in  very 
pure  and  correct  Boss  is  not  so  profuse  in  epithet* 
as  the  other  poets,  but  he  has  enough  to  be  in  character 
with  them. 

Duncan  Macdtttre  was  born  in  Glenorchy  1 724, 
and  died  in  Edinburgh  in  1812.  The  first  of  his  bal- 
lads is  composed  to  the  battle  of  Falkirk,  freight 
between  the  royal  feces  and  the  Highlander*  who 
joined  Prince  Charles.  The  battle  is  described  with 
very  great  graphic  power  ;  and  though  the  bard  fought 
upon  the  royal  side,  it  is  evident,  f»m  his  song,  that 
the  Prince,  and  those  who  fc/fir/wed  him,  had  a  wana 
corner  in  his  heart.  His  cnro  ffigirt,  and  that  '>f  hi* 
party,  is  told  so  as  to  lead  m  to  th?ak  teat  Le  wa*  j^x 
ataHdisgdeasfdwith  tife  r*s*Jt.  *  JU  a  ^/g/ be  ?e*4* 
us,  a chases  ffc**p  wìgj*  t^j  a»  nrcnritig  b/*u  Xt+, 
iaee  of  aglea,**>  w*Bztk*rr  t£*aet&c  'A '/a  *&h?  •** 
horse  of  the  ««et  w*»  w*£  ««#£,  we£  «*?£*£,  **u-2 
marked  oat  fbr  ranee.     H-jewr**.  ju*  >£*  wt  *»*>■ 

Efca  jxr^ni  acr  jifiuc  lit  Vr^t : 

*g  asx  sscul  5»cl  a  V  e^uut  Vu«2ues*£i* 


TW  vnganiosti  aa*s&i»st  v&&a&*,r 
It  wis  -a^x  wiit  id*  v.  fot 


which  he  ptrr.auh**  liar  wvyix-   *suiu/^  r  n*  ****- 
heart,  and  framesaw  &  J>  #ȣ  yu^ir.**      '  ^^ 


190     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

aid  "  (Janet)  is  her  name,  and  "  George"  is  her  grand- 
father. In  Gaelic  there  are  but  two  genders,  so  that 
every  inanimate  object  is  personified  in  ordinary  speech, 
hence  formal  personification  is  seldom  found  in  the 
poetry  of  the  language.  The  poet  tells  that  he  scours 
his  musket  himself,  and  puts  oil  on  it ;  that  he  puts  it 
to  his  eye,  and  that  it  will  not  miss  fire ;  it  will  keep 
him  in  drink  in  the  alehouses,  and  it  will  pay  each 
stoup  that  he  buys ;  it  will  keep  him  in  clothes  and 
linen ;  so  that  he  may  lay  the  cares  of  the  world 
aside. 

One  of  the  longest  of  his  pieces  is  "  Beinn  Dorain," 
which  is  very  much  admired.  It  imitates  a  pibroch, 
and  the  stanzas  vary  exactly  as  the  pibroch  does; 
some  of  them  being  in  a  slow,  and  others  in  a  quick 
measure.  The  poet  is  very  happy  in  his  verse,  which 
is  exceedingly  smooth  and  fluent.  This  poem  is  en- 
tirely descriptive.  Whatever  is  interesting  about  this 
mountain,  which  gained  so  much  of  his  admiration,  is 
given  with  great  minuteness.  The  wood,  the  deer,  the 
hunt,  the  wild  flowers,  and  herbs,  are  portrayed  with 
great  vividness  ;  still  there  is  an  excess  of  epithets, 
which  is  tedious.  Macdonald  composed  a  piece  of  the 
same  kind  previous  to  this,  which  Macintyre  has  imi- 
tated ;  but,  in  fact,  the  measure  is  but  a  mere  exten- 
sion of  the  poetical  parts  of  the  long  heroic  tales  which 
were  in  those  days,  and  still  are,  so  abundant  in  every 
district  of  the  Highlands.  The  measured  prose  of 
those  tales  resembles  a  pibroch,  as  may  be  seen  by 
glancing  at  the  tale  of  "  The  Slim  Swarthy  Champion," 
W.  H.  Tales,  voL  i.     "  Coire  cheathaich  "  is  a  beautiful 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 9 1 

descriptive   poem,   full  and  circumstantial,   but   less 
tedious  than  Beinn  Dorain. 

The  following  specimen  will  give  an  idea  of  this 
species  of  poetry,  though  translation  cannot  convey 
the  original  vigour  to  the  reader  : — 

Tha  bradan  tarra-gheal  's  a  choire  gharbhlaich, 

Tha  tigh  'n  o'n  fharige  bu  ghailbheach  tonn  ; 

Le  luinneis  mheamnach  a*  ceapadh  mheanbhchuileag, 

Gu  neo-chearbach  le  cham-ghob  crom ; 

Air  bhuinne  borb,  is  eleum  gu  foirmeil ; 

'Na  eideadh  colgail  bu  ghorm-glas  druim; 

Le  shoillsean  airgid,  gu  h-iteach,  meana-bhreac  ; 

Gu  lannach,  dearg-bhallach,  earr-gheal  sliom. 

There's  a  white-bellied  salmon  in  the  rough  grassy 

corry, 
Coming  from  the  sea  of  the  wild  raging  waves  ; 
With  stalwart  leapings  catching  the  little  flies, 
Unfailingly,  with  his  bent  crooked  nose. 
In  the  raging  current  as  he  leaps  so  cheerily, 
In  his  gallant  array  of  the  blue-gray  back, 
With  his    silvery  spangles   well  finned,    and   fine 

spotted, 
Scale-i-ly,  red-spotted,  white-tailed,  and  slim. 

This  is  genuine  Gaelic  poetry  of  a  man  who  could 
read  nature,  though  he  could  not  read  books  ;  and  his 
countrymen  have  done  well  to  erect  a  monument  to 
Duncan  Macintyre  near  his  favourite  glens,  at  the  head 
of  Loch  Awe. 


1 88     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

A  fashion  has  come  with  the  Act 
That  ordered  kilts  in  plenty  ; 
There's  raising  of  the  tartan  plaid 
With  dextrous  busy  noise. 
Smart  maidens  now  will  spin  and  dye, 
With  mirth  and  fun  and  pride ; 
Each  one  adorning  her  own  true  love 
As  always  is  her  joy. 

This  bard  has  also  a  song  to  whisky,  and  another 
to  "  Macnabracha,"  the  son  of  malt  Whisky  is  drink, 
par  excellence,  which  would  raise  the  mind  to  polite- 
ness ;  and  not  "  druaib  na  Frainge,"  the  trash  of 
France,  by  which  he  means  wine  ;  it  will  make  the 
maidens  speak,  however  modest ;  it  will  put  gentleness 
in  the  boy  ;  it  will  make  the  carl  amorous.  An  t  Olla 
Maclain,  Dr.  Johnson,  according  to  the  bard,  took  a 
glass  of  it  himself,  notwithstanding  his  Greek  and 
Latin,  and  thereby  impaired  the  power  of  his  tongue. 

"  Dh*  fhag  mac  na  bracha  e  gun  lide, 
Na  amadan  liotach  dalL" 

Mac  malt  has  made  him  speechless, 
A  thick-speaking  blinded  fooL 

Classical  names  are  interspersed  through  all  his 
compositions,  while  Greek  and  Roman  deities  are 
favourites.  Phoebus  gilds  the  mountains,  Flora  covers 
each  hill  and  dale  with  flowers  ;  his  sweethearts  have 
all  the  qualities  of  Diana ;  Cupid  throws  his  arrows 
with  a  lavish  hand ;  the  flames  excited  by  the  love- 
god  are  to  be  quenched  only  by  yielding  to  Venus  and 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 89 

Apollo  ;  and  the  nine  play  their  part.  But  English 
corruptions  are  not  to  be  found,  and  the  Gaelic  is  very 
pure  and  correct.  Boss  is  not  so  profuse  in  epithets 
as  the  other  poets,  but  he  has  enough  to  be  in  character 
with  them. 

Duncan  Maointtre  was  born  in  Glenorchy  1724, 
and  died  in  Edinburgh  in  1812.  The  first  of  his  bal- 
lads is  composed  to  the  battle  of  Falkirk,  fought 
between  the  royal  forces  and  the  Highlanders  who 
joined  Prince  Charles.  The  battle  is  described  with 
very  great  graphic  power ;  and  though  the  bard  fought 
upon  the  royal  side,  it  is  evident,  from  his  song,  that 
the  Prince,  and  those  who  followed  him,  had  a  warm 
corner  in  his  heart.  His  own  flight,  and  that  of  his 
party,  is  told  so  as  to  lead  us  to  think  that  he  was  not 
at  all  displeased  with  the  result.  "  As  a  dog,"  he  tells 
us,  "  chases  sheep  while  they  are  running  down  the 
face  of  a  glen,*  so  were  they  scattered  on  our  side ;"  the 
horse  of  the  enemy  were  well  shod,  well  bridled,  and 
marked  out  for  murder.     Moreover,  he  tells  us  also — 

Bha  ratreud  air  luchd  na  berla ; 

'S  ann  daibh  fein  a  b'  eiginn  teicheadh. 

The  outlandish  speakers  retreated  ; 
It  was  they  who  had  to  flee. 

Another  song  of  his  is  composed  to  the  musket,  in 
which  he  personifies  that  weapon,  calling  it  his  sweet- 
heart, and  enumerating  all  its  good  qualities.     "  Seon- 

*  This  idea  also  occurs  in  measured  prose  in  the  tale  of 
Murdoch  MacBrian. 


190     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BABD8, 

aid"  (Janet)  is  her  name,  and  "  George"  is  her  grand- 
father. In  Gaelic  there  are  hut  two  genders,  so  that 
every  inanimate  ohject  is  personified  in  ordinary  speech, 
hence  formal  personification  is  seldom  found  in  the 
poetry  of  the  language.  The  poet  tells  that  he  scours 
his  musket  himself,  and  puts  oil  on  it ;  that  he  puts  it 
to  his  eye,  and  that  it  will  not  miss  fire ;  it  will  keep 
him  in  drink  in  the  alehouses,  and  it  will  pay  each 
stoup  that  he  huys ;  it  will  keep  him  in  clothes  and 
linen ;  so  that  he  may  lay  the  cares  of  the  world 
aside. 

One  of  the  longest  of  his  pieces  is  "  Beinn  Dorain," 
which  is  very  much  admired.  It  imitates  a  pibroch, 
and  the  stanzas  vary  exactly  as  the  pibroch  does ; 
some  of  them  being  in  a  slow,  and  others  in  a  quick 
measure.  The  poet  is  very  happy  in  his  verse,  which 
is  exceedingly  smooth  and  fluent.  This  poem  is  en- 
tirely descriptive.  Whatever  is  interesting  about  this 
mountain,  which  gained  so  much  of  his  admiration,  is 
given  with  great  minuteness.  The  wood,  the  deer,  the 
hunt,  the  wild  flowers,  and  herbs,  are  portrayed  with 
great  vividness  ;  still  there  is  an  excess  of  epithets, 
which  is  tedious.  Macdonald  composed  a  piece  of  the 
same  kind  previous  to  this,  which  Macintyre  has  imi- 
tated ;  but,  in  fact,  the  measure  is  but  a  mere  exten- 
sion of  the  poetical  parts  of  the  long  heroic  tales  which 
were  in  those  days,  and  still  are,  so  abundant  in  every 
district  of  the  Highlands.  The  measured  prose  of 
those  tales  resembles  a  pibroch,  as  may  be  seen  by 
glancing  at  the  tale  of  "  The  Slim  Swarthy  Champion," 
W.  H.  Tales,  voL  i.     "  Coire  cheathaich"  is  a  beautiful 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  I9I 

descriptive  poem,   full  and  circumstantial,   but  less 
tedious  than  Beinn  Dorain. 

The  following  specimen  will  give  an  idea  of  this 
species  of  poetry,  though  translation  cannot  convey 
the  original  vigour  to  the  reader  : — 

Tha  bradan  tarra-gheal  's  a  choire  gharbhlaich, 

Tha  tigh  'n  o'n  fharige  bu  ghailbheach  tonn  ; 

Le  luinneis  mheamnach  a'  ceapadh  mheanbhchuileag, 

6u  neo-chearbach  le  cham-ghob  crom ; 

Air  bhuinne  borb,  is  eleum  gu  foirmeil ; 

'JSa  eideadh  colgail  bu  ghorm-glas  druim ; 

Le  shoillsean  airgid,  gu  h-iteach,  meana-bhreac ; 

Gu  lannach,  dearg-bhallach,  earr-gheal  sliom. 

There's  a  white-bellied  salmon  in  the  rough  grassy 

corry, 
Coming  from  the  sea  of  the  wild  raging  waves  ; 
With  stalwart  leapings  catching  the  little  flies, 
Unfailingly,  with  his  bent  crook'd  nose. 
In  the  raging  current  as  he  leaps  so  cheerily, 
In  his  gallant  array  of  the  blue-gray  back, 
With  his   silvery  spangles   well  finned,    and   fine 

spotted, 
Scale-i-ly,  red-spotted,  white-tailed,  and  slim. 

This  is  genuine  Gaelic  poetry  of  a  man  who  could 
read  nature,  though  he  could  not  read  books  ;  and  his 
countrymen  have  done  well  to  erect  a  monument  to 
Duncan  Macintyre  near  his  favourite  glens,  at  the  head 
of  Loch  Awe. 


I92     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BABDB, 

In  one  of  his  love  songs  is  the  expression,  "  Deud 
gheal  iobhraidh"  white  ivory  teeth ;  while  his  own 
occupation  of  huntsman  is  portrayed  for  us  in  the 
following  lines  : — 

"  Mharbhainn  duit  geoidh, 
A's  ròin,  a's  eala, 
'S,  na  h-eoin  air  bharraibh  nan  geug." 

I'd  kill  for  thee  geese, 

And  seals,  and  the  swan, 

And  the  birds  on  the  tops  of  the  twigs. 

In  his  song  to  the  Black  Highland  Watch,  in 
which  the  bard  beautifully  delineates  the  exploits  of 
that  regiment,  they  are  mentioned  as  dressed — 

Le  'n  osanan  breaca 

'S  le  'm  breacana  'n  fheil, 

with  chequered  hose  and  with  belted  plaids ;  armed 
with  "  glas  lann,"  gray  blade  ;  "  s'  an  dag,"  and  the 
pistol, 

"  Gan  tearmunn  nan  sgèith," 
Without  protection  of  shields, 

"  Le  'n  gunnacha  glana," 
With  their  glancing  guns, 

Spoir  ur  air  an  teannadh 
Gu  daingeann  nan  gleus, 

new  flints  tightened  firmly  in  their  locks  ;  biodagach, 
daggered ;    fudarach,  supplied  with  powder ;  adharc- 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 93 

ach,  supplied  with  powder-horns  ;*  so  he  describes  the 
dresses  which  he  saw  ;  but,  yet,  in  a  song  composed 
in  praise  of  the  Marquis  of  Breadalbane,  occur  the 
lines — 

"  'S  tu  thog  na  ciadan 
A  shliochd  nam  Fianntan  ;" 

It  is  thou  who  hast  raised  hundreds 
Of  the  offspring  of  the  Fenians ; 

from  which  it  appears  that  the  poet  considered  his  coun- 
trymen to  be  the  descendants  of  the  Ossianic  heroes. 

He  has  a  song  to  breeches,  in  which  he  complains 
sadly  of  being  obliged  to  wear  them ;  the  tightness 
about  the  knees  he  considers  extremely  inconvenient. 

"  Putanan  na  gluinean, 
Aa  bucalan  gan  dunadh," 

Buttons  in  its  knees, 

And  buckles  enclosing  them. 

like  Ross,  Macintyre  rejoiced  at  having  the  dress 
of  his  country  restored,  and  at  being  no  longer  obliged 
to  wear — 


« 


Cota  ruigeadh  an  t-sàil, 

Cha  tigeadh  e  daicheil  duinn." 

A  coat  that  would  reach  the  heel 
It  would  not  become  us  welL 

*  These  words  made  into  English  of  the  same  construction, 
do  not  convey  the  meaning.  "  Daggery,  powdery,  horny,"  would 
be  absurd  in  English  poetry,  but  they  are  the  words  in  Gaelic. — 
J.  F.  C. 

vol.  rv.  o 


194    GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BABD8, 

"  Chuir  sinn  a'  bhrigis  air  lar, 
'S  cha  d'  thig  i  gu  bràth  a'  cuiL" 

"We  have  laid  down  the  "  breegis"  on  earth, 
She  will  never  come  out  of  the  nook. 


Then  comes  something  more  agreeable — 

"  Osan  nach  ceangail  ar  ceum, 
'S  nach  ruigeadh  mar  reis  an  glun." 

Hose  that  bind  not* our  stride, 
That  reach  not  the  knee  by  a  span. 

The  Highland  dress  is  a  principal  theme  with  all 
the  bards  that  flourished  at  the  same  period  with 
Macintyre.  They  grieve  deeply  for  being  deprived  of 
it ;  praise  it  as  the  finest,  the  most  becoming,  and  the 
most  convenient  of  all  garbs.  Breeches,  black  hats, 
and  long  coats,  are  made  the  subjects  of  keen  satire ; 
and  the  bard  taxes  all  his  wits  to  make  the  lowland 
dress  the  most  ludicrous  and  the  most  contemptible 
that  can  be  conceived.  Like  other  poets  of  the  same 
period  Macintyre  composed  bacchanalian  songs,  mostly 
in  praise  of  whisky,  but  there  is  one  to  brandy,  from 
which  it  appears  that  the  Gaelic  poet  by  no  means 
coincided  with  Burns  in  his  opinion  of  this  drink,  for 
he  does  not  call  it  burning  trash,  but  praises  it 

In  his  "  Moladh  Dhun  Eideann,"  the  praise  of 
Edinburgh,  the  appearance  of  the  city,  and  the  dress 
of  the  period,  are  described  by  the  poet  in  his  happiest 
manner, — 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  I95 

"  'S  iomadh  fleasgach  nasal  ann 
A  bha  gu  suairce,  grinn  : 
Fudar  air  an  gruagan,"  etc. 

Of  the  ladies  lie  says — 

"  Stoise  air  na  h-ainnirean 
Gan  teannachadh  gu  h-arcL" 

"  Buill  nihais  air  eudainn  bhoidheach." 

"  Brog  bhiorach,  dhionach,  chothromach, 
S  bu  chorracb  leam  a  saiL" 

Many  a  gentle  youth  was  there 
That  was  polite  and  kind, 
Powder  upon  their  hair,  etc. 


Stays  upon  the  demoiselles, 
To  tighten  them  above. 


Beauty  spots  on  pretty  faces. 


Shoe  pointed,  tight  and  elegant, 
And  tottering  seemed  the  heeL 

There  is  no  gas  mentioned,  for  there  was  none ;  but 
what  there  was  the  bard  tells  — 

Bidh  lochrainn  ann  de  ghloineachan, 
A  *s  coinneal  anns  gach  ait 

There  will  be  lanterns  of  glasses  there, 
And  a  candle  in  every  place. 

Clous  na  Parlamaid — the  Parliament  Close — occurs. 


1 96     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARD6, 

So  Macintyre  described  what  he  saw,  in  good 
Gaelic  verse,  which  fits  the  music  of  his  time,  and 
alluded  to  the  Ossianic  heroes  as  to  something  well 
known  to  everybody,  though  of  a  past  age. 

Robert  Mackay,  a  native  of  Sutherland,  usually 
called  Rob  donn,  Brown-haired  Robert,  was  born  in  the 
year  1714,  and  died  in  1778.  His  Gaelic  is  full  of 
English  words,  but  there  is  no  trace  of  English  idiom, 
Among  his  songs  is  one  in  praise  of  Prince  Charles,  in 
which  the  prince  is  compared  to  Solomon  in  wisdom, 
to  Samson  in  strength  of  hands,  and  to  Absalom  in 
beauty.  There  is  a  song,  but  not  one  of  praise,  to  long 
black  coats,  "  Oran  nan  casagan  duhha."  Mackay  is 
one  of  the  keenest  of  Gaelic  satirical  poets.  The  fol- 
lowing English  corruptions  are  found  in  his  songs — 
line,  parlamaid  (parliament),  pension,  sergent,  chomi- 
sion  (commission),  choilair  (collar),  gabharment  (gover- 
ment),  prise  (prize),  strainsearan  (strangers),  trie  (trick), 
ranc  (rank),  fhine  (fine),  bhataillean  (battalion),  elec- 
tion, choinrad  (comrade).  While  all  these  English 
words  have  crept  into  this  bard's  composition,  his 
Gaelic  is,  at  the  same  time,  strictly  grammatical  and 
idiomatic.  The  only  allusion  to  the  Feinn  in  his 
songs,  is  in  the  case  of  a  servant  whom  he  has  nick- 
named Eaolan,  but  that  is  enough  to  shew  that  he 
knew  about  the  Feinne. 

Lachlan  MacPherson  of  Strathmasie,  was  born  in 
the  year  1723,  and  died  in  the  latter  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  Four  songs  of  his  are  published 
in  the  Beauties  of  Gaelic  Poetry,  and  some  are  in 
Gillies.     One  is  a  lament  for  Hugh  MacPherson  of 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 97 

Cluny ;  one  is  a  coarse  satire  on  drunkenness  ;  another, 
called  "  A  Bhanais  Bhàn,"  the  white  wedding,  is  a 
very  humorous  song,  in  which  a  newly-married  couple, 
well  advanced  in  years,  are  the  subject ;  another  to 
breeches,  is  rather  indelicate.  The  language  of  Mac- 
Pherson  is  entirely  free  from  English  words  or  cor- 
ruptions ;  it  is  pure,  grammatical,  and  idiomatic,  what- 
ever the  ideas  may  be.  The  character  of  his  poetry  is 
that  of  the  other  popular  bards,  and  bears  not  the  least 
resemblance  to  that  of  the  Ossian  of  1807.  In  his 
lament  to  Cluny  he  introduces  the  nine  muses.  The 
following  is  a  specimen  of  his  verse,  from  the  White 
"Wedding — 

Labhair  fear  na  bainse  fein, 
Tha  dath  airgeid  oirn  gu  leir ; 
Ciodancronthaoirn^nghrein 
Mar  dean  fear  beurra  rann  oirn  ? 

The  bridegroom  he  spoke  up  himself, 
We  are  all  of  a  silvery  hue ; 
What  ails  us  beneath  the  sun, 
Unless  a  ribald  rhyme  us  Ì 

It  is  said  that  a  copy  of  the  seventh  book  of  Temora, 
in  Gaelic,  still  exists  in  the  handwriting  of  this  bard, 
with  all  manner  of  corrections  written  in.  The  Gaelic 
of  the  seventh  book,  as  published,  is  very  different  indeed 
from  Stratum  ashie's  songs,  and  it  is  hard  to  believe 
that  he  was  the  author  of  Ossian.  There  is  no  pecu- 
liarity in  the  idiom  of  the  songs  to  countenance  this 
theory,  which  has  been  adopted  by  many. 


I98     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

John  MacCodrum  was  noted  in  his  day  for  his 
knowledge  of  the  Fenian  poems.  Sir  James  Mac- 
Donald  of  Sleat,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Blair  of  Edinburgh, 
dated  Isle  of  Skye,  10th  October  1763,  says  of  him, 
"  I  have  heard  him  repeat,  for  hours  together,  poems 
which  seemed  to  me  to  be  the  same  with  MacPherson's 
translations." 

MacPherson  met  him  on  his  way  to  Benbecula, 
and  asked  him,  "  Am  bheil  dad  agad  air  an  Fheinn?  " 
This  mode  of  putting  the  question  is  fully  as  ambi- 
guous as  many  passages  of  the  Gaelic  Ossian  of  1807, 
for  it  may  mean  either,  Do  the  Feinn  owe  thee  any- 
thing] or,  Dost  thou  know  anything  about  them? 
The  bard  considered  it  a  fit  subject  for  his  humour, 
and  replied,  "  Cha'n  'eil,  is  ged  do  bhitheadh  cha 
ruiginn  a  leas  iarraidh  nis."  "JSo;  and  though  they 
did  (owe  me  anything)  it  would  be  vain  to  ask  it  now." 
The  poet's  banter  rather  wounded  MacPherson's  dig- 
nity, so  he  cut  short  the  conversation  and  proceeded. 
If  the  people  of  Uist  were  the  same  race  then  that  they 
are  now,  a  collector  of  MacPherson's  temper  would 
have  very  little  chance  of  obtaining  either  poems  or 
stories,  though  they  were  as  "  plentiful  as  blackberries 
in  August ;"  for  whoever  expects  to  be  successful  in 
getting  stories  there,  must  cultivate  patience  and  good 
humour,  take  a  joke  and  make  one ;  and,  if  he  does 
that,  he  may  be  assured  that  he  can  get  plenty  of  fun, 
as  well  as  wit  as  brilliant  and  sparkling  as  he  could 
meet  with  in  Green  Erin,  provided  he  understands 
Gaelic.  There  is  a  lampoon  composed  by  this  bard  to 
the  bagpipe  of  one  Domhnull  ban,  Fair-haired  Donald, 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  1 99 

which  is  exceedingly  humorous,  and  in  which  he 
says — 

"  Shearg  i  le  tabhunn 
Seachd  cathan  nam  Eiantan." 

It  withered  with  yelping 
The  seven  Fenian  battalions. 

But  he  says,  that  the  Gael  loved  the  pipes  as  Edin- 
burgh people  ti  (tea),  though  this  old  and  execrable 
pipe  had  weakened  for  the  first  time — 

"  Neart  Dhiarmaid  a's  Ghuill." 
The  strength  of  Diarmaid  and  of  GolL 

Turcaichy  Turks,  Gearmailtich,  Germans,  Fran- 
gaich,  Frenchmen,  figure  in  this  bard's  verses.  Scrip- 
ture names  are  frequent.  The  names,  Eigh  Phruisia, 
King  of  Prussia ;  Troidhe,  Troy ;  Koimhe,  Kome,  are 
also  found. 

So  this  bard  noticed  the  small  circumstances  which 
mark  the  manners  of  his  own  time,  such  as  the  tea- 
drinking  of  Edinburgh,  and  referred  to  the  national 
music  of  the  Highlands ;  and  to  the  old  heroes  as 
equally  well  known. 

Alexander  MacDonald  was  born  in  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  He  joined  Prince  Charles 
in  1745,  and  many  of  his  songs  are  composed  in  praise 
of  the  prince  and  of  his  cause.  His  language  is  exceed- 
ingly vigorous,  and  his  poetry  is  impassioned.  Clas- 
sical names,  as  well  as  English  words,  are  freely  used, 
but  there  is  not  the  least  trace  of  classical  imitation  in 


200     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

his  style,  which  is  as  characteristically  Gaelic  as  can 
be.  His  songs  begin  in  the  same  abrupt,  simple  man- 
ner, as  those  of  the  most  illiterate  bards  do;  and, 
like  the  most  illiterate  of  them,  he  is  guilty  of  an 
excess  of  epithets.  His  pieces  composed  to  nature  are 
purely  descriptive.  There  is  one  long  poem,  composed 
to  a  ship,  remarkable  for  the  manner  in  which  it  brings 
out  the  power  of  the  poet,  and  the  copiousness  of  the 
language.  Much  of  this  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to 
the  description  of  the-  sailing  of  boats  in  Gaelic  tales. 
The  bagpipe  he  prefers  to  the  harp,  which  he  calls 
Ceol  nionag,  maiden's  music.  Whisky  and  the  national 
garb  have  received  his  greatest  attention. 

Phoebus  does  good  work  for  the  bard,  Eolus  will 
send  good  strong  winds,  and  Neptune  will  smooth  the 
ocean.  Mars  is  also  busy.  Yenus  and  Dido  are  equalled 
by  his  beauties.  Telesgop  (telescope),  sign  Chancer, 
sign  Thaurus,  Thropic,  Chapricorn,  Gemini,  Mars, 
puimp  (pomp),  are  terms  that  occur.  Bacchus  does 
not  pass  without  notice  either,  for  mention  is  made  of 
"  Altair  Bhachuis,"  the  altar  of  Bacchus.  Scripture 
names  are  frequent.  In  this  respect  this  bard  differs 
from  those  who  composed  the  Ossianic  poems. 

John  MacKay,  usually  called  "  Am  Piobaire  dall," 
the  Blind  Piper,  native  of  Gairloch,  Eoss-shire,  was 
born  in  the  year  1666,  and  died  in  1 754.  His  versifica- 
tion differs  considerably  from  that  of  the  bards  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  being  a  good  shade  nearer  to  that  of 
the  Fenian  poems.  The  language  also  seems  to  be  a  good 
deal  older  than  that  of  MacDonald  or  his  contemporaries. 
He  makes  several  allusions  to  the  Ossianic  heroes  : — 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  201 

"  Max  Oisian  an  deigh  nam  Fiann," 
like  Oisian  after  the  Fiann. 

"  Mac  righ  Sorcha,  sgiath  nan  arm, 
Gur  h-e  b'  ainm  dha  Maighre  borb." 

King  of  Sorcha's  son,  shield  of  the  arms, 
That  his  name  was  Maighre  borb — 

which  is  a  quotation  from  an  old  ballad  which  is  still 
repeated. 

"  'S  dh'  imich  o  Fhionn  a  bhean  f  hein ; " 
And  his  own  wife  went  off  from  Fionn  ; 

which  alludes  to  the  story  of  Graidhna 

Scripture  words  abound,  such  as  "  Gu'm  beann- 
aiche  dia,"  may  God  bless ;  "  beannachd  due,"  the  bless- 
ing of  God. 

The  Gaelic  of  this  bard  is  idiomatic,  and  not  a 
single  English  word  is  to  be  found  in  his  poems.  In 
his^"  Coire  an  E^am,"  are  strings  of  epithets,  which 
peculiarity,  as  has  been  already  observed,  pervades  the 
compositions  of  all  the  known  modern  Gaelic  bards. 
The  drinking  vessel  mentioned  is  corn,  a  horn,  and 
the  drink,  wine,  not'  whisky. 

Eoderick  Morison,  commonly  called  "  An  Clarsair 
daiy  the  Blind  Harper,  a  native  of  Lewis,  was  born 
in  the  year  1646,  and  died  at  an  advanced  age.  His 
Gaelic  is  altogether  free  from  English  words  and  idioms, 
but  is  less  ancient  in  structure  than  that  of  MacKay, 
the  blind  piper.  Drinking  is  mentioned,  but  the  kind 
of  drink  is  not  named.  The  word  stop,  stoup,  occurs. 
The  following  terms  relating  to  the  Christian  religion 


202     GAELIC  POETRY  OP  KNOWN'  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

are  found: — la  Caisge,  Easter  Day;  " Seachduin  na 
Ceu&da,"  the  week  of  the  Crucifixion  ;  u  deireadh  a' 
Charbhais,"  the  end  of  Lent ;  and  these  mark  the  exist- 
ence of  Catholicism. 

Lachlan  MacKinnon,  native  of  Skye,  flourished  in 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  His  language 
is  remarkably  pure,  and  without  the  least  trace  of 
foreign  idiom ;  nor  is  there  an  English  word  to  be  met 
with  in  his  verses.  In  a  song  composed  in  praise  of 
a  young  lady,  "Diarmaid"  is  alluded  to — 

"  Fhuair  thu  'n  iosad  buaidh  o  Dhiarmaid, 
Tha  cuir  ciad  an  geall  ort."  \ 

Thou  gotst  in  loan  a  gift  from  Diarmaid,  . 
That  puts  a  hundred  in  pledge  to  thee. 

This  alludes  to  the  beauty  spot  on  Diarmaid's  brow, 
which  no  woman  could  see  without  loving  him. 

In  a  satirical  song  on  a  certain  dagger,  the  follow- 
ing reference  is  made  to  the  enchantment  of  the  Feen, 
W.  H.  Tales  (xxxvi.)  :— 

"Bu  mhath  's  a'  bhruthainn  chaorainn  i, 
'S  an  coannag  nam  fear  mor ; 
'S  e  Fionn  thug  dh'  i  an  latha  sin, 
At  t-ath-bualadh  na  dhorn." 

Good  was  it  in  the  Kowan  burg, 
And  in  the  big  men's  strife ; 
It  was  Fionn  who  gave  it  on  that  day, 
The  next  stroke  in  his  fist 

The  next  stanza  tells  how  many  men  Fionn  slew  on 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  203 

the  occasion  ;  so  the  poet  implies  that  the  dirk  in  ques- 
tion was  a  weapon  of  the  time  of  the  Feinne.  "  Breacan  " 
and  "Ftìle,"  tartan  plaid  and  kilt,  are  mentioned  as  the 
dress  worn  by  the  Highland  chiefs  of  the  poet's  time. 

Neil  Currie,  native  of  South  Uist,  was  born  in 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  was  an 
old  man  in  the  year  1717.  In  the  few  pieces  of  his 
which  are  published,  we  have  an  insight  into  the  man- 
ners of  the  time.  There  is  the  word  "putTiar"  from 
the  English  word  power.  Brandy,  French  wines,  and 
wax  candles,  are  spoken  of  as  luxuries  with  which  the 
bard  was  familiar  at  the  house  of  his  chief.  Among 
the  musical  instruments  mentioned,  are  the  bagpipes 
and  the  fiddle.     No  allusion  is  made  to  beer  or  whisky. 

John  MacDonald,  usually  called  Iain  Lorn,  lived 
in  the  reigns  of  Charles  L  and  IL  and  died  at 
an  advanced  age,  about  the  year  1710.  His  lan- 
guage is  full  of  English  corruptions,  but  is  fairly 
grammatical ;  yet,  upon  the  whole,  in  smoothness  and 
elegance  of  expression  he  falls  far  short  of  a  great 
number  of  the  other  bards.  As  a  satirist  he  has  M 
rival.    Scripture  names  are  very  frequent  in  his  pieces. 

Mart  MacLeod,  native  of  Harris,  was  born  in  the 
year  1569,  and  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  105.  Her 
language  and  verse  are  remarkably  fluent  and  easy. 
English  words  abound,  but  the  idiom  is  very  pure. 
The  harp,  chess,  and  the  tales  of  the  Feinne,  are  men- 
tioned as  amusements  common  in  MacLeod's  castle. 
The  bow  is  spoken  of  as  an  offensive  weapon  then  in 
use,  while  fire-arms,  targets,  and  swords,  meet  with 
their  due  meed  of  praise.     Scripture  names  abound. 


204    GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

Many  old  songs,  by  known  and  unknown  authors, 
describe  battle-axes  and  bows,  and  these  may  be  re- 
ferred to  a  period  later  than  the  Fenian  period,  and 
earlier  than  that  of  the  bow.  Bows  and  spears  are 
mentioned  together  in  some  ballads ;  spears  drop  out, 
and  bows  are  named  along  with  battle-axes ;  in  others, 
and  further  on,  bows,  battle-axes,  and  firearms,  are 
mixed  up  together. 

The  following  are  lines  recited  in  Islay,  and 
assigned  by  tradition  to  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Traigh 
Ghruineart,  fought  between  MacLean  and  MacDonald 
in  the  reign  of  James  the  Sixth  : — 

"  Fhir  na  feusaige  ruaidhe, 
Gur  trom  do  bhuille  's  gur  cruaidh  e ; 
Bhris  thu  leithcheannach  mo  thuaighe  ; 
'S  gad  rinn  thu  sin  's  math  learn  buan  thu." 

Man  of  the  russet  beard, 

Heavy  is  thy  blow  and  hard  ; 

Thou  hast  broken  the  broad  side  of  my  axe ; 

And  though  thou  hast,  long  mayst  thou  live. 

How  the  old  Highlanders  fought  with  axes  we 
learn  from  Barbour's  Bruce,  book  second,  in  which  the 
following  expressive  lines  occur : — 

"  But  the  folk  of  the  other  party 
Fought  with  axes  fellyly  ; 
For  thai  on  fute  war  ever  ilkane, 
Thait  feile  off  their  horss  has  slain, 
And  till  some  guiff  they  wounds  wid." 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  205 

An  old  war  song  exists,  styled,  "  Prosmacha  catha 
Chloinn  Domhnuill  le  Lachunn  mor  MacMhuirich 
Albanaich,  la  Catha  Harla,"  "Battle  incitement  of 
the  MacDonalds,  by  big  Lachunn,  son  of  Albanian 
Muireach."  MacMhuirich  or  Currie  was  Clanranald's 
bard,  and  this  song  is  said  to  have  been  sung  by 
him  at  the  battle  of  Harlaw.  It  consists  of  seventeen 
stanzas  of  unequal  length,  and  every  word  in  each 
stanza  begins  with  the  same  letter  of  the  Gaelic 
alphabet,  which  has  but  seventeen  letters.  The  particle 
gu  is  prefixed  to  everv  word,  which  makes  them  all  ad- 
verbs,  and  so  every  ìine  of  the  song  begins  with  g. 
The  Eoman  order  of  the  letters  is  followed ;  that  is,  a, 
b,  c,  etc.,  which  is  not  the  same  as  the  Oghum,  or  old 
Gaelic  alphabet.  The  whole  is  a  list  of  adverbs,  ex- 
cepting two  lines  at  the  beginning,  and  eleven  at  the 
end,  expressive  of  various  military  virtues,  all  set  to  a 
lively  quick  measure.*     The  number  of  lines  is  336. 

The  following  is  the  last  stanza  of  this  curious  old 
song  :  — 

Gu  urlamhach,  gu  urmhaiseach, 

Gu  urranta,  gu  uraluinn, 

Gu  urchleasach,  gu  uaibhreach, 

Gu  uilf heargach,  gu  uaillfheartach, 

Gu  urchoideach,  gu  uabhasach, 

Gu  urrasach,  gu  urramach, 

Gu  urloisgeach,  gu  uaimhshlochdach, 

Gu  uachdarach,  gu  uallach, 

*  The  measure  is  exactly  that  of  the  quick  part  of  a  piobair- 
eachd,  or  piperiDg,  called  "  pibroch"  in  English.  The  conclusion 
fits  the  slow  ending  of  such  pieces. 


206     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARD6, 

• 

Gu  ullamh,  gu  usgarach, 

Gu  urmhailleach,  gu  uchdardach, 

Gu  uidhimichte,  gu  ughdarach, 

Gu  upagach,  gu  uilef hradharcach, 

Gu  upairneach,  gu  urghleusach, 

Gu  urbhuilleach,  gu  urspealach, 

Gu  urlabhrach,  urlamhach,  urneartmhor, 

Gu  coisneadh  na  cathlarach, 

Ki  bruidh'ne  ur  biughi, 

A  Chlanna  Chuinn  cheudchathaich, 

'Si  nis  uair  ur  n'  aithneacha, 

A  chuileanan  conf  hadhach, 

A  bheirichean  bunanta, 

A  leoghuinan  langhasda, 

Onnchonaibh  iorghuileach, 

De  laochraidh  chrodha,  churanta, 

De  chlannaibh  Chuinn  cheudchathaich, 

A  chlannaibh  Chuinn  cuimhnichij)h, 

Cruas  an  am  na  h-iorghuil. 

So  dexterously,  so  gracefully, 
Intrepidly,  audaciously, 
So  actively,  so  haughtily, 
AU-wrathfully,  so  yellingly, 
So  hurtfully,  so  dreadfully, 
Trustworthily,  honourably, 
So  zealously,  so  grave-pit-ly, 
Superiorly,  cheerfully, 
So  readily,  so  jewelled, 
Well-mailed-ly,  high-breasted-ly, 
Preparedly,  authoritatively, 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.         207 

Pushingly,  all-seeing-ly, 

Bustlingly,  right  trimmed-ly, 

Well-striking-ly,  well-mowing-ly, 

Eloquently,  dexterously,  all-powerfully, 

To  win  the  field  of  battle, 

For  the  telling  of  your  glory, 

Children  of  Conn  of  a  hundred  fights, 

This  now  is  the  hour  to  know  you, 

Ye  furious  whelps, 

Ye  stout  dragons, 

Ye  splendid  lions, 

Ye  standards  of  stout  battle 

Of  brave  gallant  warriors, 

Of  the  children  of  Conn  of  the  hundred  fights, 

Children  of  Conn  remember 

In  the  time  of  battle  hardihood. 

The  arms  used  at  the  battle  are  indicated  in  various 
lines  throughout  the  piece.  It  is  worth  remark  that 
no  fire-arms  are  mentioned  in  the  Owl,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  still  older  than  the  Battle  Ode. 

Gu  cuilbhaireach,  gu  cruaidhlannach, 

Gu  sgabullach,  gu  srolbhratach, 

Gu  reimeil,  gu  ughf  heinneach, 

Gu  8uilfhurachair,  gu  saighid  ghear, 

Gu  scianach,  gu  spionach, 

Gu  scaiteach,  gu  sciathach, 

Gu  tuadhbhuilleach  gu  tarbhach. 

So  culverined,  so  steel  bladed, 
So  scabbarded,  so  silk  bannered, 


208     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

So  powerfully,  so  Feinne  king  like, 

So  knife  armed,  so  pullingly, 

So  choppingly,  so  shieldly, 

So  axe  blow-ly,  so  bull-like, 

So  eye-watchingly,  so  arrow  sharp-ly. 

A  "  CHOMHACHAG,,,  the  Owl,  is  an  ancient  piece, 
published  in  Gillies,  and  also  in  the  Beauties  of 
Gaelic  Poetry.  It  is  attributed  to  one  Donald  Mao- 
Donald,  a  celebrated  hunter,  who  lived  before  the 
invention  of  fire-arms.  This  piece  approaches  nearer 
to  the  Fenian  poems  in  character  than  anything  to  be 
found  in  the  compositions  of  the  above-mentioned  bards. 
In  one  of  the  stanzas,  there  is  an  allusion  to  the  con- 
fessional : — 

"Deansa  t-fhaosaid  ris  an  t-shagart." 
Make  thy  confession  to  the  priest. 

The  erection  of  a  mill  is  spoken  of  as  something 
notable  : — 

"  'S  rinn  e  muillean  air  Allt-Larach." 
And  he  made  a  mill  on  Allt-Larach. 

The  hunting  life  is  delineated  with  glowing  enthusi- 
asm, and  the  various  animals  of  the  chase,  as  well  as 
domestic  animals,  are  enumerated — "  eilid,"  the  hind ; 
"feidh"  deer;  laogh,  calf;  meann,  kid;  earb,  roe; 
loch,  duck ;  gadhair,  hounds.  Bogha,  bow,  is  fre- 
quently named,  but  no  other  offensive  weapon.  The 
Fenians  are  introduced  in  one  line — 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  209 

"  Chi  mi  Srath-Oisein  nam  Fiann." 
I  see  the  Strath  of  Oisean  of  the  Fiann. 

Though  there  is  a  reference  to  drinking,  no  special 
drink  is  named.     Among  the  animals,  there  is  no 

mention  of  "  Ion,"  which  so  frequently  occurs  in  the 

Fenian  ballads,  and  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  elk. 

In  this  poem  we  meet  with  much  of  the  poetry  of 
nature,  but  it  is  very  different  from  that  which  is  found 
in  the  Ossian  of  1807,  or  in  Dr.  Smith's  Seann  Dana 
(old  poems),  but  it  is  similar  in  kind  to  that  which  is 
found  in  the  compositions  of  the  bards  already  quoted, 
to  that  of  the  Blind  Piper,  of  MacDonald,  and  of  Mac- 
intyre.  It  is  descriptive,  but  neither  philosophical  nor 
contemplative.  Natural  objects  are  not  so  much  matter 
of  speculation  as  of  feeling.  The  poet  speaks  of  them 
as  something  that  he  strongly  loves  ;  something  to 
which  he  is  strongly  attached  ;  and  which  he  praises  as 
he  does  his  friends,  his  home,  or  his  country.  When 
this  Gaelic  bard  speaks  of  inanimate  objects,  he  does  it 
like  those  above  named,  he  speaks  as  if  they  were  his 
familiar  friends — we  think  they  live,  and  that  they  are 
in  his  mind  by  the  fireside  along  with  him.  He 
enumerates  every  beauty  and  excellency  connected  with 
them  ;  not  so  much  because  he  admires  the  beauties 
that  he  finds  in  them,  but  because  he  loves  them.  This 
is  the  species  of  poetry  which  proceeds  from  the  Celt's 
strong  attachment  to  home  and  country — from  that 
feeling  which  makes  him  sigh  for  his  native  home  in 
a  foreign  land,  though  successful  in  life,  and  surrounded 
with  comforts — that  feeling  which  inclines  him  to  pre- 

VOL.  IV.  p 


2  1 0     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

fer  the  barren  heaths,  foaming  cataracts,  and  rugged 
mountains  of  the  Highlands  to  the  fairest  lands  on 
which  the  sun  shines. 

In  following  the  long  list  of  Scoto-Gaelic  bards 
from  the  present  day  to  the  author  of  "  A  Chomhachag  " 
(The  Owl),  we  find  the  spirit  of  this  poetry  uniform  and 
unaltered.  From  Macintyre's  "  Coire  cheathaich  " 
(the  Corry  of  Mist),  to  "  A  Chomhachag  "  (The  Owl),  it 
is  very  much  the  same  in  character.  The  following 
quotation  from  ,M  The  Owl "  will  illustrate  what  has 
been  said  : — 


« 


Creag  mo  chridhe  's  a*  chreag  ghuanach, 
Chreag  an  d*  fhuair  mi  greis  de  m'  arach ; 
Creag  nan  aighean  's  nan  damh  siubhlach ; 
A'  chreag  urail,  aighearach,  ianach. 

Chreag  mu'n  iathadh  an  fhaoghait ; 
Bu  mhiann  learn  a  bhi  ga  taghal, 
Nuair  bu  bhinn  guth  gallain  gaodhair 
A*  cur  graidh  gu  gabhail  chumhainn. 

'S  binn  na  h-iolairean  mu  'bruachan ; 
'S  binn  a  cuachan,  's  binn  a  h-eala ; 
A's  binne  na  sin  am  blaoghan 
Ni  an  laoghan  mèana-bhreac,  ballach." 

Crag  of  my  heart,  the  lightsome  rock, 
The  rock  where  I  was  partly  reared ; 
Kock  of  the  hinds  and  roving  stags ; 
Kock  that  is  verdant,  and  gay  with  birds. 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  2  I  I 

The  rock  which  the  hunting  shout  encircles ; 
To  haunt  it  would  be  my  joy, 
When  the  voice  of  the  baying  hounds  was  sweet, 
Urging  the  herds  to  a  narrow  pass. 

Sweet  sound  the  eagles  in  its  braes  ; 
Sweet  are  its  cuckoos,  and  sweet  its  swan ; 
Sweeter  than  all  is  the  bleating 
Of  the  spotted,  fine-speckled  fawn, 

How  different  is  this  from  the  address  to  the  sun 
and  similar  poetry  in  Ossian ;  yet  it  will  be  found  to 
be  the  same  in  character  with  MacDonald's,  Mac- 
intyre's,  and  all  other  modern  Gaelic  bards.  The 
germ  of  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  Fenian  ballads,  as,  for 
instance,  that  line  in  the  Lay  of  Diarmaid — 

"  'S  gur  truagh  m'  aghaidh  ri  Beinn  Ghulbann." 

From  the  traces  of  this  style  to  be  found  in  these 
old  poems,  it  has  expanded  into  its  more  modern 
form. 

In  the  works  of  all  these  bards,  which  extend  over 
a  period  of  several  centuries;  for  one  piece,  composed 
as  a  war-song  for  the  Highlanders  who  fought  at  Har- 
law,  is  referred  to  the  same  date,  1411,  the  manners  of 
each  age  are  delineated.  There  is  a  difference  in  the 
language  corresponding  to  each  period,  but  that  differ- 
ence is  inconsiderable.  The  bards  belong  to  different 
parts  of  the  Highlands,  but  no  marked  difference  of 
dialect  appears  in  their  compositions,  and  this  agrees 
with  the  prevalent  opinion  among  Highlanders  that 
good  Gaelic  is  something  definite,  though  they  axe  not 


2  I  2     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

unanimous  with  regard  to  the  district  where  good 
Gaelic  is  to  be  found.  The  difference  in  spoken 
dialects  is  more  in  pronunciation,  accent,  and  the  use  of 
certain  words  in  one  place  rather  than  another,  than  in 
grammatical  structure  or  idiom.  In  reviewing  the 
compositions  of  these  known  bards,  we  observe  that,  as 
a  rule,  the  earlier  the  period  the  purer  is  the  language, 
and  the  freer  from  English  words.  The  idiom  of  the 
language  found  in  this  poetry  is  very  far  removed  from 
English,  and,  on  that  account,  it  is  very  difficult  to 
transfer  the  meaning  of  a  passage  accurately  into 
English,  and  much  more  so  to  give  its  force  and  spirit. 
Though  the  works  of  these  modern  bards  differ  in  lan- 
guage from  the  Fenian  ballads,  they  vary  in  words  rather 
than  in  idiom.  The  versification  differs,  but  the  songs 
approach  the  ballads  nearer,  the  older  they  are ;  almost 
all  these  modern  poems  contain  allusions  to  Christianity 
and  scripture  names.  No  superhuman  deeds  are  men- 
tioned, nor  anything  out  of  the  range  of  probability ; 
but  when  we  look  at  "Mordubh,"  and  the  other  poems 
of  the  same  class,  we  perceive  a  style  that  stands  far 
apart  from  all  these,  and  from  the  Fenian  ballads. 
Between  the  language  of  the  Fenian  poems,  that  of  the 
works  of  the  known  bards,  and  that  of  spoken  Gaelic, 
there  is  a  common  bond  of  union  that  is  easily  dis- 
covered ;  the  others  are  something  apart. 

The  preservation  of  these  Fenian  ballads  for  many 
ages  may,  at  first  sight,  appear  incredible,  more  espe- 
cially when  successive  generations  of  poetry  relating  to 
historical  events  have  died  out,  and  when  we  have  so 
little  concerning  the  chiefs  and  warriors  that  flourished 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  2  I  3 

in  Scotland  during  the  seventh,  eighth,  ninth,  and  suc- 
cessive centuries,  down  to  the  fifteenth.  We  have 
no  traditional  ballads  that  refer  to  the  wars  of  Wallace 
and  Bruce,  hardly  a  tradition  relating  to  them.  All  these 
great  men  have  passed  away  from  the  Highland  popular 
mind  as  if  they  had  no  existence,  and  yet  these  pre- 
historic traditions  remain  How  is  it  that  no  succeed- 
ing poetry,  no  national  history,  has  been  able  to  supplant 
them  Ì  If  they  kept  their  ground  in  the  midst  of  the 
compositions  of  successive  ages,  we  must  surely  admit 
that  they  possessed  a  peculiar  merit  suiting  those  times, 
that  they  were  superior  to  anything  new  that  was  pro- 
duced, or  at  least  that  they  were  more  fitted  to  take 
hold  of  the  feelings  of  all  periods.  It  may  be  asked 
were  they  not  the  compositions  of  modern  bards  Ì 
Those  bards,  so  far  as  we  know  their  history,  quote 
them  as  something  older  than  their  own  times.  Grant- 
ing that  they  are  not  the  compositions  of  any  known 
bard,  may  they  not  have  been  the  composition  of 
bards  previous  to  those,  but  still  of  a  period  not  very 
remote — of  the  monks  of  a  certain  period  ?  Had  they 
been  the  compositions  and  inventions  of  such  men,  was 
it  likely  that  there  should  be  so  little  reference  to  reli- 
gion, and  to  known  general  history,  in  the  ballads 
which  give  the  history  of  the  Feinne,  as  told  by  Oisein 
amongst  his  dialogues  with  St.  Patrick  on  religious  mat- 
ters, or  as  they  are  more  commonly  now  sung,  without 
these  pagan  polemics.  In  monkish  compositions,  Greek 
and  Eoman  history  are  often  present,  and  there  is  much 
in  these  poems  which  we  can  hardly  think  monks 
would  be  inclined  to  encourage.     When  \2asa.  n**&  *0eàs> 


2  T  4     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BABD8, 

poetry  composed  ?  "Was  it  in  the  tenth  century  ?  If  so, 
wliat  was  the  poetry  of  the  Gael  previous  to  that 
century?  Had  they  any?  Roman  writers  answer 
— "  The  Caledonians  went  to  fight  the  Romans  sing- 
ing war  songs  ;"  hut  we  are  not  informed  what  they 
sang,  though  we  may  surmise.  Did  Fenians  or  Fenian 
traditions  exist  in  the  time  of  the  Caledonians?  If 
so,  probahly  there  were  Fenian  ballads  then  also,  and 
these  may  he  the  old  ballads  of  the  Caledonians  modi- 
fied, developed,  and  altered,  but  preserved  from  under- 
going any  radical  change  by  popular  veneration  down 
to  our  own  day. 

Why  these  have  been  so  well  preserved,  and  have 
outlived  so  many  historical  periods,  may  be  accounted 
for  by  their  universality.  Highland  chiefs  were  at 
war  with  each  other,  and  lasting  animosities  subsisted 
between  them.  A  song  in  praise  of  a  certain  chief 
was  not  likely  to  be  acceptable  to  an  inimical  clan. 
A  ballad  in  praise  of  clan  Chattan  would  not  please 
the  clan  Kay.  A  poem  that  extolled  the  exploits  of 
Robert  Bruce,  would  meet  but  with  a  cold  reception 
among  the  Macdougalls  of  Lorn,  or  among  the  depen- 
dents of  the  Comyns  of  Badenoch.  The  bard  that 
would  run  the  risk  of  praising  the  merits  of  James  the 
First  among  the  Grahams,  or  among  the  dependents  of 
those  relatives  of  his  own  whom  he  had  so  cruelly 
executed,  might  risk  having  his  tongue  cut  out,  but 
the  Fenian  ballads  could  be  sung  anywhere.  They 
were  not  likely  to  excite  any  feud,  or  awaken  any  old 
grudge,  or  recall  any  former  disgrace.  They  were 
not  calculated  to  wound  either  a  reigning  dynasty,  or 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  2  I  5 

the  partizans  of  a  fallen  one ;  and,  indeed,  during  those 
wild  times,  when  every  man's  hand  was  against  his 
brother,  what  better  code  of  honour  could  have  existed 
among  such  fiery  elements.  When  chiefs  violated  the 
principles  of  chivalry,  and  honour,  and  fair  play,  what 
better  check  could  we  conceive  as  a  moral  restraint  upon 
their  wild  passions  than  the  traditions  of  the  Feinne, 
whose  name  is  still  the  watchword  for  Mr  play. 
"  Cothrom  na  Feinne,"  "  Fenian's  advantage,"  a  fair 
field  and  no  favour. 


To  tbe  list  of  modern  bards  who  refer  to  the  Feinne,  may  be 
added  the  name  of  Evan  MacColl,  the  Lochfine-side  bard,  who 
published  a  volume  of  very  creditable  English  and  Gaelic  poetry 
in  1836.  At  page  94  is  a  Gaelic  stanza,  which  may  be  thus 
closely  translated : — 

And  thou  there  standing  all  lonely. 

As  Oisian  after  the  Feinne  ; 

Small  time,  and  thou  followest  kindred, 

Oh  Dun !  death's  strong  hand  is  upon  thee. 

The  Dun  meant  is  "  castail  donnain,"  in  Loch  Dubhaich  in 
Ross-shire.  Other  references  also  occur,  and  it  may  be  generally 
said,  that  there  is  hardly  a  Gaelic  book  that  does  not  contain 
such  references.  William  Livingstone,  the  lslay  bard,  who  pub- 
lished clever  poems  in  1858,  often  mentions  the  Feinne. — J.  F.  C. 

To  this  let  me  add  the  letter  of  a  labourer,  who 
has  a  good  head  and  small  learning,  but  knowB  his 
own  language  well. 

Douchlais,  28th  October  1861. 

Sir — I  received  your  letter  of  the  24th  Saturday 
last 


2  1 6     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARD8, 

There  is  a  good  many  words  in  Ossian's  poems 
that  is  not  common  in  modern  Gaelic.  I  have  Dr. 
Smith's  Gaelic  book,  and  I  got  it  from  a  man  because 
that  there  was  so  many  words  in  it  which  he  did  not 
know  the  meaning  of,  and  I  understand  them. 

Them  (the  poems)  that  I  heard  repeated  corresponds 
with  those  that  is  in  the  book. 

I  am  quite  convinced  that  the  English  was  taken 
from  the  Gaelic,  and  not  the  Gaelic  from  the  English. 

It  would  be  quite  absurd  to  think  that  a  man 
would  spend  his  time  studying  old  Gaelic  for  to  trans- 
late English  prose,  and  put  it  in  Gaelic  varse,  and 
choose  the  words  as  they  were  spoken  about  seventeen 
hundrid  years  ago  :  it  would  be  a  very  laborious  task ; 
and  if  the  publication  was  printed,  the  publisher  would 
be  a  great  loser  by  it,  as  so  few  would  buy  it,  because 
they  did  not  understand  it ;  and  none  would  be  able 
to  do  it,  unless  he  was  a  first-class  Gaelic  scholar,  and 
a  good  poet ;  and  also  he  would  have  to  read  some 
other  poems,  as  old  as  Ossian's,  for  to  find  the  measure 
of  the  metre,  as  some  of  them  is  composed  to  a  measure 
that  is  not  used  in  modern  poetry.  I  understand 
the  Gaelic  of  the  published  books.     I  understand  the 

words  separately. — Yours  truly, 

John  Dewar.* 

To  this  let  me  add  a  letter  from  Mr.  Torrie,  now 
a  student  at  Edinburgh  College,  who  has  collected 
stories  for  me,  and  lives  in  Benbecula. 

*  It  is  to  be  observed  that  this  witness  says  nothiDg  of  the 
Hod:-  ^i*ian  of  1807. 


published  and  traditional.  2  i  7 

Benbecula,  South  Uist, 
19th  October  1861. 

My  dear  Sir — As  I  have  conversed  with  al- 
most all  those  from  whom  poems  have  been  collected 
in  this  quarter,  I  flatter  myself  that  I  am  now  in  a 
position  to  furnish  you  with  my  quota  of  information 
on  this  interesting  subject. 

Besides  these  poems  which  have  been  collected,  the 
proof  sheets  of  which  I  have  perused,  a  great  variety 
of  other  poems,  which  go  under  the  name  of  "  Ossian's 
Poems,"  are  commonly  recited  by  the  people.  A  few 
of  these  I  have  already  sent  you ;  and  I  have  still  in 
my  possession  two  long  ones,  called  respectively — 
"  Teanntachd  rrihor  na  Finney"  and  "  Oath  mac  High 
na  Sorcha."  " Laoidh  Dhiarmid"  " Laoidh  FJiraoich" 
"Laoidh  anAmadain  Mhoir"  "  MhuileartachBhuidhe" 
and  "  Laoidh  a  Choin  duibh"  are,  however,  the  most 
common.  Fragmentary  pieces  of  these  I  have  heard 
recited  by  some  of  our  highest  class ;  but  those  who 
have  them  most  entire,  are,  comparatively  speaking,  the 
poorest  and  most  illiterate  in  the  land — those  from 
whom  they  might  be  the  least  expected — so  circum- 
stanced that  they  have  had  no  access  to  books,  and  even 
should  they  have,  the  most  of  them  could  not  make  any 
use  of  them.  Neither  were  they  in  a  position  to  mingle 
among  those  who  could  read,  and  had  books.  Books, 
however,  which  contain  collections  of  Ossian's  Poems, 
are  not  so  common  here  as  might  be  expected.  None 
of  the  reciters  that  I  have  met,  ever  heard  of  Gillies', 
MacCallum's,  or  Stewart's.     I  have  never  seen  any  of 


2  1 8     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

these  in  the  islands  ;  and  if  they  are  to  be  found  at  all, 
it  is  with  those  who  prize  them  too  much  to  lend  to 
such  of  the  poorer  classes  as  could  read,  to  run  the  risk 
of  being  disfigured  with  black  drops,  and  sure  to  have 
the  not  very  agreeable  odour  of  peat-reek.  Donald 
Macintyre,  Aird,  Benbecula,  the  best  reciter  of  poems 
that  I  have  met,  and  who  can  read  Gaelic  well,  never 
saw  any  book  of  the  kind  until  I  shewed  him  Dr. 
Smith's  collection.  I  have  traced  out  another  copy 
of  Dr.  Smith's  at  Iochdar,  which  was  presented  to 
one  Peter  M'Pherson,  a  bit  of  a  poet,  by  the  Reverend 
Duncan  M'Lean,  now  Free  Church  Minister  at  Glen- 
orchy,  when  missionary  here  about  thirty-five  years 
ago.  Every  person  with  whom  I  have  conversed 
about  Ossian's  Poems,  and  who  knows  anything  about 
them,  admires  them  very  much,  and  believes  them  to  be 
the  genuine  composition  of  Ossian,  as  pure  as  might  be 
expected,  considering  that  they  were  handed  down  by 
tradition,  and  consequently  lost  a  great  deal  of  their 
pristine  splendour ;  and  received  additions  which,  in- 
stead of  adding,  detracted  considerably  from  their  ori- 
ginal merit.  I  believe  there  are  very  few  in  the 
Highlands,  especially  adults,  but  know  something  of 
Ossian's  Poems.  Like  the  "  Popular  Tales,"  which  are 
universally  found  throughout  the  Highlands,  Ossian's 
Poems  have  formed  a  very  important  part  of  the  High- 
landers' pastime  through  the  long  winter  nights. 
When  on  my  way  home  from  Edinburgh  last  spring, 
I  read  Laoidh  Dhiarmid  to  a  few  in  Skye.  They  re- 
membered to  have  heard  it  before ;  and  some  old  men 
remarked  that,  when  they  were  young,  tales  and  poems 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  2  1 9 

were  very  common,  and  regretted  very  much  that  they 
were  so  much  out  of  vogue  with  the  present  generation. 
I  never  met  with  any  of  Ossian  books  there  but  one, 
the  Eev.  Mr.  MacLauchlan's  Gleanings,  presented  to  a 
"guide"  by  an  English  tourist.  I  never  heard  of  any 
Irish  book  containing  these  pieces  in  the  islands,  nor 
have  I  ever  seen  any  myself!,  As  I  have  not  MacPher- 
son's,  which  is  the  best  known  of  them  all,  nor  Gillies*, 
nor  Stewart's,  I  cannot  say  whether  those  who  repeat, 
recite  passages  a  la  MacPherson,  a  la  Stewart,  or  a  la 
Gillies.  Donald  Macintyre  recited  to  me  a  poem  entitled 
"Cath  MacEigh  na  Sorcha,"  which  I  find  in  Dr. 
Smith's  collection,  note  page  176.  They  Tesemble 
each  other  very  much ;  in  some  passages  the  language 
is  the  same  ;  Macintyre's  version,  however,  is  longer, 
though  Dr.  Smith's,  upon  the  whole,  is  more  beautiful. 
In  the  course  of  a  conversation  lately  with  a  gentleman 
of  no  mean  authority,  on  the  Ossianic  controversy,  he 
expressed  his  surprise  that  the  anti-Ossianics  would  use 
such  futile  arguments  as  that  MacPherson  was  the 
author  of  these  poems,  or  that  the  people  get  them  from 
books,  while  he  himself  had  a  distinct  recollection  of 
hearing  one  Eory  M'Queen,  commonly  called  Euairi 
Euadh,  who  was  a  catechist  in  this  parish,  recite  poems 
which  can  be  found  in  MacPherson's.  This  M'Queen 
died  about  thirty  years  ago  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty. 
He  had  a  great  many  of  Ossian's  poems,  which  he  learned 
when  a  boy  by  hearsay,  and  with  which  he  afterwards 
used  to  entertain  his  hosts  when  travelling  from  village 
to  village  on  his  catechetical  visits.  A  niece  of  his, 
who  now  resides  at  Paible,  North  Uist,  has  the  same 


220     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

hereditary  talent  which  procured  her  uncle  more 
celebrity  than  his  catechetical  acumen.  This  Mac- 
Queen  was  no  less  than  fifty-five  years  of  age  when 
M'Pherson's  Gaelic  was  published,  and  fifty-seven 
before  Stewart's  or  M'Callum's  appeared.  In  what- 
ever way,  therefore,  people  came  to  have  these  poems, 
it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  they  never  got  them  from 
books,  for  nothing  can  be  more  patent  than  the  fact 
that  these  poems  existed  long  before  MacPherson's,  or 
Stewart's,  or  M'Callum's,  or  Gillies',  or  Miss  Brooke's 
came  into  existence.  Nor  is  it  consistent  to  suppose  that 
MacPherson,  were  he  really  the  author  of  the  poems, 
would  give  them  unto  the  world  as  the  composition  of 
Ossian,  while  they  were  of  themselves  sufficient  to  raise 
him  to  the  pinnacle  of  fame,  and  establish  his  name  as 
the  greatest  poet  that  Scotland  ever  produced.  I  do 
not  believe,  however,  that  these  minor  pieces  are  the 
composition  of  Ossian.  They  differ  as  much  from  them 
as  a  school-boy's  attempts  at  painting  do  from  the 
sublime  efforts  of  Baphael  or  Michael  Angelo.  As  to 
the  question  whether  these  are  Irish  or  Scotch,  I  can- 
not give  a  definite  answer.  After  some  reflection, 
however,  my  opinion  preponderates  to  the  latter,  for 
though  there  are  some  words  and  phrases  which  to  me 
were  unintelligible  until  the  reciters  explained  them, 
and  which  they  considered  Irish,  still  I  would  not  be 
justified  in  calling  such  ballads  as  contain  them  Irish, 
on  the  slender  ground  of  this  mere  "  ipse  dixit,"  for 
they  may  have  retained  that  much  of  the  language 
in  which  they  were  originally  composed,  and  which 
may  have  been  the  dialect  common  in  Scotland  at  that 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  2  21 

time.  They  are  apparently  very  old,  and  it  is  possible 
at  the  time  they  were  composed  the  language  of  both 
countries  was  the  same,  considering  they  had  one 
common  origin.  By  whom  they  were  composed,  or  at 
what  time  they  were  composed,  cannot,  with  any  de- 
gree of  certainty,  be  determined.  They  stretch  back 
into  a  period  of  whose  history  I  know  very  little,  and, 
consequently,  I  am  precluded  from  adding  more. — 
Meanwhile,  I  remain,  yours  very  faithfully, 

D.  K.  Torrie. 

J.  F.  Campbell,  Esq.,  etc.  etc. 

To  this  let  me  add  the  opinion  of  a  Highlander,  who 
had  had  much  to  do  with  the  publication  of  Gaelic 
books,  and  lives  in  a  city. 

62  Argyle  Street,  Glasgow, 
November  9,  1861. 

My  dear  Sir — In  compliance  with  your  request, 
I  will  now  proceed  briefly  to  give  you  my  opinion  of 
the  poems  attributed  to  Ossian  and  other  ancient  Celtic 
bards.  Although  a  doubt  never  crossed  my  mind  re- 
garding the  genuineness  of  these  productions,  yet  after 
a  careful  investigation  of  the  subject,  I  have  now  a 
more  definite  and  satisfactory  impression  of  the  matter 
than  I  had  heretofore.  I  believe  that  "  Fingal  fought, 
and  that  Ossian  sang,"  as  firmly  as  I  believe  any  other 
historical  feet.  I  have  now  the  same  opinion  of  them 
that  I  had  thirty  years  ago,  when  I  first  began  to  take 


222     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

an  interest  in  these  matters,  namely,  that  such  indi- 
viduals lived  many  centuries  ago,  and  composed  poems 
that  have  been  handed  down  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion by  oral  recitation,  and  that  many  of  these  fragments 
have  been  collected  and  translated  into  English,  and  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  James  MacPherson  of  Badenoch,  exactly  a 
hundred  years  ago,  and  by  others  since,  such  as  Dr.  John 
Smith  of  Campbeltown,  Duncan  Kennedy,  Hugh  and 
John  M'Callum,  etc.  I  believe  all  that  is  truly  poetical 
and  ennobling  in  MacPherson's  translation  are  the  pro- 
ductions of  Ossian  and  other  great  bards  of  the  same  era ; 
but  while  I  believe  and  maintain  all  this,  I  give  it  as  my 
humble  conviction  that  MacPherson  used  unwarrantable 
liberties  with  his  originals.  Ossian  never  composed 
"  Fingal "  and  "  Temora  "  as  they  are  given  by  him,  and 
it  would  be  much  more  to  the  credit  of  our  country  had 
he  given  these  fragments  just  as  he  collected  them, 
without  linking  them  together  as  he  has  done,  and 
called  them  "  Epic  Poems."  I  also  complain  of  Mac- 
Pherson for  excluding  passages  which  accorded  not  with 
the  theory  which  he  wished  to  establish,  and  thus  en- 
deavoured to  fix  the  Fingalian  era  according  to  his  own 
fancy ;  but  this  is  not  the  worst — I  have  a  graver  charge 
than  any  of  these  to  bring  against  him.  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  affirming  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
Gaelic  which  is  published  as  the  original  of  his  trans- 
lation is  actually  translated  back  from  the  English. 
I  have  discovered  this  by  the  aid  of  fragments  (no 
doubt  genuine)  published  in  the  Highland  Society's 
Keport.  These  fragments  begin  at  page  192,  and 
end   at  page  260.      A  literal  translation  is  inserted 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  223 

on  opposite  pages,  with.  MacPherson's  translation  in 
foot-notes.  MacPherson's  translation  is  pretty  faithful, 
with  the  exception  of  omitted  passages,  which  under 
other  circumstances  might  be  supposed  to  have  been 
translated  from  a  different  version ;  but  when  we 
are  presented  with  the  Gaelic,  purporting  to  be  the 
original,  the  deception  is  too  transparent  to  pass  unde- 
tected. I  am  aware  that  this  assertion  is  detrimen- 
tal to  the  honesty  and  veracity  of  Mr.  MacPherson,  and 
perhaps  to  the  character  of  those  who  superintended 
the  publishing  of  the  Gaelic  after  his  death,  but  I  affirm 
this  as  my  honest  conviction  of  the  matter ;  and  any 
Highlander  of  ordinary  intelligence  may  satisfy  himself 
on  this  point  by  comparing  the  Report  and  MacPherson's 
Gaelic.  From  this,  and  other  circumstances,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  MacPherson  determined  to  appropriate  to 
himself  the  literary  glory  of  these  productions.  If  not, 
why  bequeath  in  his  "  last  will  and  testament "  £1000 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  publishing  Ossian's  poems  in 
Gaelic,  English,  and  Latin  Ì  This  fact,  I  think,  ought 
to  exonerate  those  superintending  the  Gaelic,  as  they 
were  merely  carrying  out  his  request  as  his  executors. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  I  have  mentioned,  we  are 
indebted  to  Mr.  MacPherson  for  what  he  had  done. 
He  was  the  first  to  draw  the  attention  of  foreigners  to 
these  wonderful  compositions,  and  others  following  his 
example,  matter  has  been  collected  and  preserved  that 
would  have  been  for  ever  lost.  Mr.  MacPherson's 
translation,  in  my  opinion,  is  superior  to  the  paraphrase 
of  Dr.  Smith ;  but  the  Gaelic  of  Dr.  Smith  is  genuine, 
with  the  exception  of  his  emendations  and  occasional 


224     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

interpolations,  where  he  thought  the  sense  required  it, 
and  which  he  candidly  acknowledged.  Dr.  Smith  being 
a  ready  poet,  and  a  thorough  Gaelic  scholar,  spared  no 
pains  in  making  his  "  Seann  Dana "  worthy  of  the 
patronage  of  his  countrymen ;  and  no  wonder  although 
he  was  disappointed  when  his  labours  were  not  suffi- 
ciently appreciated. 

There  are  other  parties  who  have  done  some  harm, 
alleging  that  they  were  the  authors  of  some  of  the  com- 
positions which  passed  as  Ossian's.  Mr.  Kennedy 
claimed  some  of  his  collection  as  his  own.  Mr.  M'Callum 
of  Arisaig  published  a  volume  of  Gaelic  poems  and  songs 
in  1821,  in  which  he  gives  a  "Seann  Dan*1  under  the 
designation  of  "  Collath"  which  in  course  of  time  was 
honoured  by  a  place  in  "  The  Beauties  of  Gaelic  Poets," 
the  editor  endorsing  it  as  an  ancient  poem;  but  in  1840 
Mr.  M'Callum  published  a  new  edition  of  his  poems, 
and  very  coolly  "  removes  the  deception,"  using  his  own 
words,  and  avows  himself  the  author  of  "  Collath"  and 
very  modestly  retains  the  fulsome  notes  which  he  him- 
self appended  to  it  on  its  first  appearance.  It  is  doubt- 
ful if  the  author  would  have  been  so  ready  to  remove  the 
deception  had  "  Collath  "  not  been  so  highly  honoured 
by  the  editor  of  the  "  Beauties."  Mr.  M'Callum  added 
a  third  part  to  "  Mordubh"  and  259  lines  to  the  second 
part  more  than  is  given  in  Gillies'  collection.  He  does 
not  say  that  the  supplement  to  "  Mordubh  "  is  his,  nei- 
ther do  I  charge  him  with  imposing  on  the  reader  by 
this  ;  but  I  am  not  satisfied  that  either  the  first,  or 
last,  or  any  part  of  "  Mordubh  "  is  genuine. 

I  have  mentioned  tihssfc  cYccwmstances  in  order  to 


PUBLI8HED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  225 

remove,  so  far  as  I  can,  all  that  has  the  appearance  of  sus- 
picion or  doubt  about  the  matter ;  but  all  the  deceptions 
that  have  been  practised  do  not  affect  the  sterling  worth 
of  the  poems  of  Ossian  any  more  than  the  base  coin 
affects  the  value  of  the  real  one.  It  will  only  make 
those  into  whose  hands  it  may  come  try  it  and  make 
sure  that  it  is  genuine. 

It  may  be  objected,  a  How  could  so  much  matter 
be  preserved  on  the  memories  of  the  people  without 
the  aid  of  letters  ?"  Those  who  have  lived  in  the 
Highlands  for  any  length  of  time  know  well  how  these 
productions  have  been  preserved.  In  former  times 
Highlanders  had  very  little  else  to  remember;  or, 
rather,  they  did  not  remember  much  else.  Socially 
disposed,  they  spent  much  time  together ;  on  the  long 
winter  evenings  they  assembled  in  a  certain  house,  re- 
hearsed and  listened  to  these  records  of  Fingalian 
achievements  which  were  thus  interwoven  with  their 
mental  development.  Hence  the  continual  opposition 
manifested  by  the  religious  instructors  of  the  High- 
landers to  "  Sgeulachdan"  and  Ossianic  poetry.  These 
teachers  had  serious  difficulties  in  getting  the  attention 
of  the  people,  in  consequence  of  their  minds  being  pre- 
occupied and  absorbed  by  this  ancient  lore. 

Bishop  Carswell,  in  1567,  complains  of  those  who 
spent  their  time  and  intellect  in  perpetuating  the  re- 
cords "concerning  Tuath  de  dannan,  Fionn  Mac- 
CumJiail  and  his  heroes,  rather  than  write  and  teach  and 
maintain  the  faithful  words  of  God,  and  of  the  perfect 
way  of  truth."  But  Mr.  Eobert  Kirk,  of  Balquhidder, 
who  published  the  first  metrical  Gaelic  \ets&fflL  <&  ^aa 

VOL.  IV.  Q 


226     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BABD8, 

Psalms  in  1684,  is  more  charitably  disposed  towards 
the  Fingalians.     (See  page  76.) 

The  assertions  of  Bishop  Carswell  are  fully  borne 
out  by  the  well-known  Christian  poet,  Peter  Grant  of 
Strathspey,  who  composed  about  forty  years  ago.  He 
says  in  "  Gearan  nan  Gaidlieal :" — 

"  An  t-Sàbaid  ghlòrmhor  bu  chòir  a  naomhadh, 
'Stric  chaith  sinn  faoin  i  o  cheann  gu  ceann, 
Le  cainnt  ro  dhiomhain  mu  thiomchioll  Fhianntaibh, 
'S  gach  gnothach  tiomal  a  bhiodh  'n  ar  ceann ; 
Air  cnuic  's  air  slèibhtean,  's  na  tighean  ceilidh 
Bhiodh-mid  le  chèile  a'  tional  ann, 
Ach  cha  b'e  'm  Blobal  a  bhiodh  'ga  leughadh 
Ach  faoin  sgeul  air  nach  tigeadh  ceann." 

The  glorious  Sabbath  that  should  be  hallowed, 
Oft  spent  we  in  trifling  from  end  to  end 
With  useless  chattering  about  the  Feeantain, 
And  each  timely  matter  that  was  in  our  mind. 
On  knolls  or  hillsides,  or  in  visiting  houses, 
We  wrould  be  together  all  gathering  there  ; 
But 't  was  not  the  Bible  that  was  read  there, 
But  a  silly  tale  told  without  an  end. 

I  think  these  quotations  prove  two  things  ;  first, 
that  Ossian's  Poems  are  older  than  James  MacPherson; 
and  second,  that  it  is  not  a  matter  of  astonishment  that 
Highlanders  could  preserve  so  much  of  the  poetry  of 
former  ages,  seeing  that  they  applied  all  their  mental 
powers  in  remembering  and^i^etuating  it.     I  cannot, 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  227 

indeed,  wonder  at  the  clergy,  teachers,  and  catechists 
opposing  the  "  conventicles"  (to  use  an  ecclesiastical 
term)  for  rehearsing  and  hearing  Fingalian  lore,  as  the 
practice  interfered  so  much  with  their  usefulness.  But 
these  traditions  served  a  purpose,  and  accomplished 
their  mission ;  and  like  other  dispensations  of  anti- 
quity they  passed  away.  They  were  the  "  elementary 
school-books "  of  the  Celts  in  bygone  ages ;  they 
helped  to  strengthen  and  expand  their  memories,  and 
to  sharpen  their  intellects ;  and  the  morals  inculcated 
by  them  were  generally  sound.  Those  who  are  fami- 
liar with  our  national  proverbs  and  maxims,  must  ac- 
knowledge that  the  men  who  first  uttered  them,  and 
those  who  gave  them  currency,  studied  human  nature 
deeply.  The  Highlanders  had  also  many  problems  and 
riddles,  as  you  are  well  aware,  that  required  much  in- 
genuity and  application  to  solve.  I  will  refer  you  to 
one  of  these  as  a  specimen  ;  it  goes  under  the  designa- 
tion of  "  Aireamh  Fir  Dhubkain"  You  will  find  it, 
I  think,  in  Stewart's  collection.  There  is  much  truth 
in  what  Dr.  M'Leod  of  St.  Columba,  Glasgow,  uttered 
on  one  occasion,  although  he  was  laughed  and  sneered 
at  by  some  for  it : — "  Even  the  superstition  of  the 
Highlanders,  dark  and  wild  as  it  may  appear,  had  a 
happy  tendency  in  forming  the  character  of  the  Gael." 
Undoubtedly  it  had  ;  and  while  I  am  anxious  that  my 
countrymen  should  possess  knowledge  that  will  be 
more  serviceable  to  them  in  time,  and  shall  make  them 
happy  in  eternity,  I  am  ready  to  pay  my  tribute  of 
gratitude  to  the  memories  of  the  teachers  of  former 
generations,  for  inculcating  a  sense  oi  \Jd&  \x&\&X£&&3  <& 


2  28     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BABD8, 

everything  in  this  world,  and  the  folly  of  expecting 
ranch  from  creature  comforts — for  the  love  of  country 
and  kindred,  and  for  the  noble,  generous,  and  hospi- 
table spirit  they  infused  into  society — the  fruit  of 
which  I,  in  common  with  my  countrymen,  am  reaping 
in  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

It  is  evident  that  the  learned  pride  of  many  of  our 
Anglo-Saxon  neighbours  was  roused  on  the  appearance 
of  the  Ossianic  fragments.  They  could  not  conceive 
how  an  unlettered  people  could  produce  such  poetry ; 
but  they  ought  to  have  remembered  that  the  knowledge 
of  letters  is  but  one  avenue  for  conveying  knowledge  to 
the  human  mind.  I  have  met  and  associated  with 
individuals  who  had  "  book  knowledge  "  in  abundance, 
but  yet  had  neither  the  sense  or  the  wit  of  some  who 
knew  not  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  and  could  not  be 
consulted  with  equal  advantage  in  a  case  of  emergency. 
A  knowledge  of  letters,  and  of  the  English  language,  is 
the  essence  of  all  knowledge  and  wisdom  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  "  Gall"  These  two  items  are  certainly  re- 
quisites in  our  education ;  but  it  is  doing  the  Celt  great 
injustice  to  conclude  that  because  he  is  ignorant  of 
these  he  must  be  very  stupid  and  ignorant  of  every- 
thing. Highlanders  have  serious  difficulties  to  contend 
with,  which  require  indomitable  courage  and  perse- 
verance to  overcome.  A  young  Celt  leaves  his  native 
hills  with  scarcely  a  word  of  English  "  in  his  head,"  and 
comes  to  the  Lowlands.  In  course  of  time  he  masters 
the  language  of  the  "  Gall"  competes  with  him,  and 
often  beats  him  on  his  own  soil.  There  is  no  evidence 
of  inferiority  of  intellect  in  tins. 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  229 

Fearing  that  I  have  done  more  than  what  you  wished 
me  to  do,  I  remain,  my  dear  Sir,  yours  faithfully, 

Archibald  Sinclair. 


To  this  let  me  add  the  opinion  of  a  Highlander  who 
has  been  stationed  in  many  districts  of  the  country  as 
an  excise  officer ;  a  gentleman  of  good  education,  and 
well  able  to  write  Gaelic  and  English,  who  has  been 
kind  enough  to  collect  stories,  etc.  for  me. 

"  It  is  well  known  that,  in  the  absence  of  literature, 
men  supply  the  deficiency  by  tales,  which  may  be  of 
their  own  creation,  or  that  of  ages  long  gone  by.  It 
were  strange  if  the  imaginative,  the  sensitive,  the  en- 
thusiastic Gael  were  without  his.  Strange  it  were  if 
the  children  of  the  mist  themselves  were  without  this 
poetic  element  in  their  constitution.  But  it  is  not  so. 
In  all  ages  the  Celtic  tribes  have  been  noted  for  their 
tales,  poetry,  and  music,  and  all  these  are  characteristic. 
They  breathe  the  same  melancholy  sadness,  the  same 
enthusiastic  wildness,  and  the  same  daring  chivalry. 
Their  tales  are  pure  and  simple,  their  poetry  is  assuredly 
that  of  nature.  It  is  wild  and  romantic,  sensitive  and 
sad,  affectionate  and  kind.  Their  music  is  known  and 
admired  all  over  the  world. 

There  are  all  sorts  of  Highland  tales — fabulous,  and 
romantic ;  fairy  tales,  and  tales  of  superstition,  family 
tales,  tales  of  gallant  deeds,  and,  I  regret  to  say,  tales 
of  deadly  feud. 

The  Highlanders  distinguish  between  all  these.  To 
the  fabulous  tales  they  give  no  cxeafcuca,  \s\&  TaKt&^ 


23O     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

repeat  them  because  they  are  curious.  The  romantic 
tales  they  do  not  exactly  believe,  but  think  they  might 
possibly  be  true.  Fairy  and  superstitious  tales  are  not 
now  generally  believed.  But  family  tales,  feudal  tales, 
and  tales  of  other  years  form  the  history  of  the 
Highlanders.  These  they  believe,  and  repeat  with 
pride.  A  Highlander  always  takes  pride  and  plea- 
sure in  the  noble  actions  and  gallant  deeds  of  his 
country.  His  own  clan  is  a  special  pride  to  him.  It 
is  his  standard  of  honour,  and  he  would  as  soon  tell  of 
anything  disreputable  to  his  own  family  as  he  would  to 
his  clan.  His  clan  may  be  few  now,  its  members  may 
be  scattered  to  all  ends  of  the  earth,  but  he  speaks  of 
it  when  it  was  a  clan,  and  he  recounts  its  fall  with 
sorrow  and  regret.  These  tales  are  generally  to  be 
found  amongst  the  poor  and  unlettered  people.  They 
cherish  the  memory  of  their  fathers ;  they  tell  their 
tales,  recite  their  poems,  and  sing  their  songs ;  they 
have  the  pride  and  generosity  of  their  fathers,  and, 
alas  !  the  penury  consequent  on  their  fathers'  misfor- 
tunes. These  tales  are  to  be  found  amongst  the  old. 
For  obvious  reasons,  the  young  do  not  take  the  same 
interest  in  them.  Consequently  these  relics  of  anti- 
quity must  necessarily  be  lost,  and  scarce  a  trace  of 
them  be  found  in  another  generation  or  two. 

These  old  men  and  women  are,  indeed,  generally 
poor,  but  they  have  generally  seen  more  comfortable 
circumstances.  Their  houses  may  not  be  perfect  speci- 
mens of  architecture,  but  they  are  of  kindness  and 
hospitality.  Their  furniture  may  not  be  comfortable, 
ag  to  the  modern  acceptation  of  the  term,  but 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  231 

it  suffices  for  their  use,  and  every  article  is  endeared 
by  family  associations.  Their  dress  may  be  humble,  but 
it  can  boast  of  having  been  teazed,  carded,  and  spun  by 
a  wife  or  a  daughter.  It  may  not  be  fine,  but  it  is 
comfortable,  and  it  is,  notwithstanding,  pleasant  enough 
to  look  upon.  Their  fare  may  not  be  over  plentiful, 
but  the  stranger  is  always  welcome  to  a  share  of  it. 

They  are  never  rude,  boorish,  or  vulgar,  uncivil, 
disrespectful,  or  insolent.  On  the  contrary,  they  are 
naturally  civil  and  deferential,  but  they  are  naturally 
reserved.  This  I  have  experienced.  I  have  often  gone 
to  old  men,  and  although  I  was  told  they  had  the 
greatest  stock  of  old  lore  of  any  in  the  place,  yet 
they  would  either  equivocate,  or  maintain  the  most  pro- 
voking silence.  They  would  much  rather  know  who 
I  was,  if  they  did  not  know  me,  and  why  I  was  so 
desirous  to  get  sgeulachdan  faoin  sTieana  bhan — old 
wives'  silly  tales.  I  had  always  to  wait  till  I  had  gained 
their  confidence.  To  shew  them  that  I  was  interested 
in  their  tales,  I  have  often  told  them  one  myself — 
perhaps  one  I  had  got  a  few  days  before !  If  they 
knew  of  any  expressions  belonging  to  the  tale  which 
I  had  not,  they  would  repeat  them  at  my  request. 
Thus  I  have  often  got  many  valuable  additions. 

Fabulous  tales  are  the  most  difficult  to  get,  not 
because  they  are  the  rarest,  but  because  they  are  un- 
willing to  tell  them  to  strangers.  Historical  tales  are 
the  easiest  to  get.  They  are  known  everywhere,  and, 
more  or  less,  by  every  person.  "  Sgeulachdan  na  Feinn" 
or  the  Fingalian  tales,  are  very  common.  Clan  or 
historical  tales,  and  those  of  the  Fingalians,  are  the 


232     GAELIC  PORKY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  SARDS, 

most  admired.  These  are  believed  in,  and  consequently 
talked  of  seriously.  Many  of  these  correspond  to  a 
nicety  with  Ossian's  poems.  Bat  many  more  hare  no 
coincidence  with  them. 

I  met  an  English  tourist  in  summer,  and  we  had 
occasion  to  speak  of  FingaTs  Cave  in  Staffa.  He  said 
very  authoritatively  that  Frugal,  Ossian,  and  his  compeers 
must  have  been  all  fiction — in  short,  mere  creations  of 
MacPherson's  own  fency ;  that  no  person  ever  heard  of 
Ossian  till  MacPherson's  days;  that  no  MSS.  of  Ossian's 
poems  were  ever  seen;  and,  finally,  that  they  were 
never  known  to  exist  amongst  the  people.  This  was 
certainly  a  new  theory  to  me,  but,  like  many  others,  I 
saw  that  the  gentleman  who  felt  himself  at  liberty  to 
speak  thus  freely  of  Ossian's  poems,  did  not  take  the 
trouble  to  examine  for  himself.  That  he  heard  or  read 
of  this,  and  believed  it.  I  told  him  that  hundreds  of 
years  before  MacPherson  existed,  the  poems  of  Ossian 
were  well  known,  and  alluded  to  in  writing;  that  Mac- 
Pherson stood  exactly  in  the  same  relation  to  Ossian  as 
Pope  did  to  Homer,  or  Dryden  to  Virgil ;  that  MSS.  of 
Ossian's  poems  were  well  known  to  exist  in  the  Highlands 
long  before  MacPherson's  time.  That  some  of  those 
MSS.  were  to  be  seen  at  an  eminent  London  publisher's 
at  the  very  time  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  was  declaiming 
against  the  authenticity  of  Ossian's  poems ;  and,  lastly, 
I  told  him  that,  so  far  from  it  being  at  all  true  that 
Ossian's  poems  were  not  known  amongst  the  people, 
if  he  would  have  the  goodness  to  accompany  me,  and 
in  less  than  five  minutes'  time  I  would  bring  him  to  a  man 
who  could  repeat  hundreds  of  lines  of  Ossian's  poems. 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  233 

While  speaking  of  MacPherson,  I  may  state  that 
many  Gaelic  scholars  think  he  might  have  done  greater 
justice  to  their  darling  Ossian.  Without  averring  that 
MacPherson  might  not  have  rendered  Ossian  much 
more  effective,  I  think  he  has  done  remarkably  well. 
He  has  deserved  the  gratitude  of  every  Highland  heart, 
and  of  every  man  of  taste. 

Ever  since  I  remember  myself  I  remember  hearing 
of  the  Fingalians.  Who  that  has  lived  in  the  Highlands 
but  must  necessarily  have  heard  the  same.  Their  ex- 
ploits, bravery,  and  battles  have  been  the  theme  and 
admiration  of  Highland  seanachaidhean  from  time  im- 
memorial. That  these  may  have  been  exaggerated  is 
possible,  that  they  had  a  foundation  in  fact  is  unques- 
tionable. 

I  have  frequently  questioned  old  men  concerning 
the  Fingalians  in  almost  all  parts  of  the  Highlands,  from 
Cape  Wrath  to  the  Mull  of  Cantyre.  If  they  had 
heard  of  them — what  they  heard  of  them — and  if  they 
believed  in  them?  I  have  never  in  one  single  in- 
stance met  a  negative.  All  had  heard  of  them,  and  all 
firmly  believed  in  their  existence.  Some  could  give 
me  anecdotes  of  them,  some  tales,  some  their  poems, 
and  all  could  give  me  something.  I  could  mention 
scores,  but  I  must  necessarily  confine  myself  to  a  few 
examples. 

1.  Dugald  Ban  Mac  a  Chombaich,  i.e.,  Colquhoun, 
Port-Appin,  is,  I  should  think,  somewhat  over  seventy 
years  of  age.  He  is  a  most  decent  old  man.  He  could 
tell  me  lots  about  the  Feinn.  He  heard  much  about 
them  when  a  boy.    They  were  believed  in,  and  their 


234    GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

memory  honoured  by  his  fathers,  and  he  could  see  no 
reason  why  he  should  not  do  the  same.  I  took  down 
a  few  tales  from  him.  One  of  them  I  had  taken  down 
previously  from  a  decent  old  man  in  Islay,  who  lives 
at  Cultorsay.  Another  was  about  Diarmad,  how  he 
killed  the  wild  boar,  and  how  he  was  killed  in  turn. 

Diarmad  was  a  nephew  of  Fingal,  and  one  of  the 
handsomest  men  amongst  the  Fingalians.  He  had  a 
"  Bàllseirc,"  or  a  "  Gradh-seirc" — a  beauty-spot  on  hia 
forehead.  To  conceal  this  he  was  obliged  to  wear  a 
vizer.  Otherwise  he  was  in  danger  of  committing  sad 
havoc  amongst  the  tender  hearts  of  the  Eingalian  fair. 
This  is  alluded  to  by  one  of  our  Gaelic  poets.  The 
passage  may  be  thus  translated — 

Thou  hast  from  Diarmad  got  a  charm, 

And  beauty  rare,  divine ; 
A  hundred  souls  are  bound  to  thee — 

A  hundred  hearts  are  thine. 

There  is  a  very  common  tradition  that  the  Campbells 
are  descended  from  Diarmad,  and  hence  their  crest — 
the  wild  boar's  head. 

2.  Alexander  Macdonald,  Portrigh,  Skye,  is  eighty- 
four  years  old.  Heard  a  great  deal  about  the  Feinn 
when  young.  Ossian's  poems  were  quite  common  in 
his  day.  Had  lots  of  them  himself,  and  even  yet  can 
repeat  a  good  deal.  I  took  down  some  from  him. 
Amongst  other  things,  part  of  "Laoidh  na  Nhighin." 
This  old  man  was  serving  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stewart, 
who  kept,  he  said  (if  I  remember  right),  two  clerks 
employed  collecting  the  poems  of  Ossian  throughout 
the  country. 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  235 

3.  Donald  Stewart,  Ardfhraic,  Skye,  is  ninety-two 
years  of  age.  He  is  still  hale  and  cheerful,  and  his 
faculties  quite  unimpaired.  He  is  a  quiet  unassuming 
man,  and  is  altogether  a  fine  specimen  of  a  fine  old 
Highlander.  He  rememhers  well  the  days  of  his  youth. 
Great  and  sad  changes  have  come  over  the  country 
since  then.  He  heard  much  about  the  Feinn.  Heard 
often  the  poems  of  Ossian.  They  were  quite  common 
in  his  day.  Every  person  knew  them,  most  could  recite 
them,  and  all  admired  them.  As  long  ago  as  he  can 
remember  anything,  he  remembers  distinctly  how  the 
people  used  to  collect  to  each  other's  houses  in  the  long 
winter  nights.  They  used  to  tell  tales  of  all  descrip- 
tions, sing  the  songs  of  their  fathers,  and  recite  the 
poetry  of  Ossian.  The  old  men  recited  while  the  young 
listened.  Those  who  were  the  best  recited,  and  all 
endeavoured  to  excel.  They  took  a  special  pleasure  in 
tMs^andinùnpresaingtheLmo^of'the  /oung  with 
what  they  were  reciting.  Some  of  the  men  were  very 
old.  They  said  they  got  them  from  their  fathers  when 
they  were  young.  That  their  fathers — that  is,  the  old 
men  of  their  day — told  them  they  had  those  tales, 
traditions,  and  poems,  from  their  own  fathers.  That 
Ossian's  poems  were  then  as  well  known  and  as  much 
admired  as  anything  at  all  could  possibly  be. 

Assuming,  then,  that  some  of  these  men  were  as 
old  as  Donald  Stewart  is  to-day,  when  he  was  a  boy, 
we  have  thus  direct  and  truthful  evidence  of  the 
authenticity  of  the  Poems  of  Ossian  for  the  last  one 
hundred  and  eighty-four  years.  What  more  need  be 
said! 


236    GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

From  Donald  Stewart,  of  whom  I  have  often  heard, 
but  whom  I  have  only  once  seen,  I  got  some  curious 
old  things.  I  shall  endeavour  to  see  him  again  ere 
long,  when  I  have  no  doubt  I  shall  get  extracts  from 
him  of  Os8ian,  in  all  his  purity. 

4.  Kenneth  Morrison,  Trithean,  Skye,  is  old  and 
blind.  I  need  scarcely  mention  that  he  heard  much  of 
Ossian  in  his  young  days.  A  very  decent  old  man, 
John  Macdonald,  Iain  Maclain  Eoghain,  Talamhsgeir, 
Skye,  used  to  come  to  Kenneth  Morrison's  house. 
This  John  Macdonald  died  more  than  twenty  years 
ago.  He  was  about  eighty  when  he  died.  He  was  a 
very  good  poet,  as  were  his  fathers  before  him,  and  so 
are  his  sons.  One  of  his  sons,  who  composed  some 
very  popular  songs,  died  some  years  ago. 

4  a.  John  Macdonald  was  a  passionate  admirer  of 
Ossian.  He  had  a  great  many  of  his  poems,  and  could 
recite  them  most  beautifully.  Wherever  he  went  he  was 
welcome,  and  every  person  was  delighted  to  get  hold 
of  him.  He  was  a  very  pleasant  old  man,  but  his 
recitals  of  his  darling  Ossian  fascinated  all.  His  own 
house  was  full  every  night,  and  whenever  he  visited 
any  of  his  friends  he  was  literally  besieged.  He  often- 
times came  to  see  Kenneth  Morrison,  and  when  he  did, 
Kenneth  Morrison's  house  was  sure  to  be  crowded — 
literally  crammed.  From  him  he  learned  the  most 
of  what  he  has  of  Ossian's.  He  has  forgotten  the  most, 
but  he  has  a  good  many  pieces  yet.  Amongst  other 
pieces,  I  have  got  from  him  "The  Death  of  Oscar," 
"Ossian's  Address  to  the  Sun,"  "  Fingal,"  the 
beginning    of  Duan    iv.       Also,   "  The  Arms,1*  and 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  237 

" Laoidh  an  Amadain  Mhoir"  as  in  "Smith's  Sean 
Dana"  I  have  got  another  piece  from  him,  en- 
titled "  Bàs  Ghaoiril " — CaorreaTs  death.  Caorreal 
was  a  son  of  Fingal  and  brother  of  Ossian.  He  and 
Gaul,  the  son  of  Morni,  disputed.  They  fought,  and 
Caorreal  fell.* 

5.  An  old  man,  whose  name  I  cannot  just  now 
recollect,  and  who  is  now  dead,  lived  at  Toat,  opposite 
Airdeilhh,  Lochalsh  ;  he  was  very  old,  and  died  some 
years  ago ;  he  had  known  almost  incredible  quanti- 
ties of  Ossianic  poetry.  I  have  been  assured  by  more 
than  one  who  knew  him  intimately,  that  this  old  man 
had  as  much  Ossianic  poetry  as  would  take  him  whole 
days  in  the  recital ;  yet  he  could  recite  for  whole 
nights  together  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  with 
as  much  ease  as  he  could  pronounce  his  own  name, 
like  all  the  rest  of  his  class,  he  used  to  say  that  he 
heard  Ossian's  poems  from  old  men  when  he  was  a 
boy  ;  that  they  were  perfectly  common,  and  much  ad- 
mired in  his  day  ;  that  every  person  knew  them ;  that 
most  recited,  and  many  sung  them.  This  old  man  is 
understood  to  have  given  a  great  deal  of  Ossianic 
poetry  to  MacPherson's  followers. 

6.  I  have  the  pleasure  of  knowing  a  much  respected, 
enthusiastic  Highlander,  a  member  of  the  Glasgow 
Ossianic  Society,  and  a  clergyman,  who  has  many 
Fingallian  airs ;  he  is  himself  an  accomplished  musician, 
and  a  fond  admirer  of  the  airs  and  poems  of  Ossian. 

Although   I  have  frequently  heard  the  poems  of 

*  The  poems  in  question  have  been  sent  to  me,  and  are  pre- 
served with  the  rest    See  list  at  the  end.— J.  F.  C. 


238     GAELIC  POETRY  OP  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

Ossian  half-recited,  half-sung,  I  never  heard  them  be- 
fore set  to  music.  I  can,  however,  assure  those  who 
have  not  had  this  privilege  of  hearing  them,  that  the 
Ossianic  airs  are  wild,  melodious,  and  altogether  most 
beautiful ;  they  are  typical  of  the  poems. 

7.  Mr.  Donald  Nicolson,  parochial  schoolmaster, 
Kilmuir,  Skye,  had  a  great  deal  of  Ossian's  poems;  his 
father,  he  assured  me,  had  more  Ossianic  poetry  than 
all  ever  MacPherson  translated  ;  and  even  he  himself, 
when  a  boy,  could  repeat  what  would  form  a  tolerable 
sized  volume.  These  he  heard  from  old  men  in  the 
long  winter  nights  ;  he  personally  was  acquainted  with 
many  old  men  who  could  repeat  lots  of  Ossian's 
poetry.  These  old  men  declared  that  Ossian's  poems, 
in  their  day,  were  known  by  every  person,  and  by 
every  person  admired.  Mr.  Nicolson  says  that  much, 
and  deservedly,  as  Ossian's  poems,  as  given  to  the 
world,  are  admired,  they  are  much  inferior  to  the  ver- 
sions he  was  in  the  habit  of  hearing  in  boyhood ;  that 
he  is  of  opinion  MacPherson  must  have  got  his  versions, 
generally  speaking,  from  indifferent  reciters ;  I  have 
heard  others  say  the  same.  I  believe  those  collected 
by  Smith  and  some  others,  are  generally  thought  to  be 
purer  versions  than  those  collected  by  MacPherson. 

Thus  I  have  given  the  names  of  many  unquestion- 
able witnesses  to  the  authenticity  of  Ossian's  poems. 
Did  necessity  require  it,  I  could  easily  give  ten,  aye, 
twenty  times  more.* 

*  January  1862.  Mr.  Carnrichael  has  sent  me  the  names 
of  several  other  persons  who  can  repeat  traditional  Ossianic  lays, 
and  specimens  of  these  compositions,  taken  down  from  dictation. 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  239 

If  the  ancient  Highlanders  had  not  their  gods  and 
godesses  like  the  Greeks  of  old,  they  had  what  was 
much  more  natural,  their  heroes  and  heroines.  If  they 
had  not  an  invulnerable  Achilles,  they  had  their  mag- 
nanimous Fingal ;  if  not  their  bewitching  Juno,  they 
had  their  Dearsagrena,  whose  resplendent  beauty  was 
like  that  of  the  sun.  If  they  had  not  their  Apollo, 
they  had  their  venerable  Ossian,  "  the  sweet  voice  of 
Cona,"  the  darling  of  Highland  hearts. 

If  it  should  be  said  that  Ossian  exaggerates  the 
gallantry,  the  bravery,  the  magnanimity  of  his  heroes, 
why,  Homer  does  the  same.  If  there  is  poetic  license, 
why  should  it  be  denied  to  those  who  knew  no  restraint 
but  that  of  nature.  "Saul  slew  his  thousands,  and 
David  his  tens  of  thousands ;"  and  why  should  not 
their  enemies  fall  before  Ossian's  heroes,  "  like  reeds 
of  the  lake  of  Lego,"  and  their  strength  be  terrible. 

We  have  not  only  their  names  accurately  handed 
down  to  us,  but  the  names  of  many  places  were  derived 
from  those  of  the  Fingalian  heroes.  There  is  Gleann 
CJionnain,  Connan's  vale ;  and  Amhain  Chonnain,  Con- 
nan's  river,  in  Eoss-shire  ;  and  even  Gleann  Bhrain, 
Bran's- vale,  in  honour  of  FingaTs  celebrated  dog  Bran. 
There  is  a  Dun-Fionn,  Fingal's  height  or  hill,  on  Loch- 
lomond.  There  is  Slidbh  nam  ban  Fionn,  the  Fin- 
galian  fair  women's  hill,  in  Iiosmor. 

Many  of  these  closely  resemble  ballads  which  I  had  got  elsewhere, 
and  prove  to  demonstration  that  these  are  very  commonly  known 
in  all  parts  of  the  Highlands.  Others  resemble  parts  of  the 
Ossian  of  1807— such  as  <4  Cuchullin  in  his  Car"— which  I  believe 
to  be  an  old  passage,  and  which  has  been  found  in  Ireland  also.— 
J.  F.  C. 


24O    GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

Liosmor,  it  is  said,  was  a  favourite  hunting  place 
of  the  Fingalians ;  and  there  is  even  a  tradition  amongst 
the  people,  that  here  they  had  some  of  the  very  best 
sport  they  ever  had.  There  is  nothing  improbable  in 
this.  Game  must  have  been  once  very  abundant  in 
Liosmor ;  there  are  traces  still  to  be  found ;  antlers 
of  the  deer,  the  bison,  and  the  elk,  have  been  found 
in  the  bogs;  these  were  of  immense  size.  There  is 
in  Liosmor  a  place  called  Larach  tigh  nam  Fiann, 
the  site  of  the  Fingalian's  house ;  it  is  a  large  cir- 
cular mound,  of  perhaps  eighty  yards  diameter,  and 
surrounded  by  a  deep  foss.  There  is  a  deep  well 
inside,  possibly  it  may  have  been  used  for  the  purpose 
of  entrapping  game.  Dr.  Livingstone,  Gordon  Cum- 
ming,  MacKenzie,  all  Highlanders  by  the  by  ;  and,  if  I 
remember  right,  Park,  give  a  description  of  similarly 
constructed  places  amongst  the  Africans.  Perthshire 
is  replete  with  reminiscences  of  the  Fingalians ;  there 
is  Cill  Fhinn,  pronounced  in  Gaelic  and  written  jn 
English,  Killin,  "  FingaTs  tomb  ;  here,  tradition  says, 
Fingal  is  buried.  In  the  neighbourhood  is  Sornach- 
coir-Fhinn,  "  the  concavity  for  Fingal's  boiler."  Sorn- 
ach means  thin  oblong  stones  raised  on  end  in  the  form 
of  a  triangle ;  a  fire  is  placed  between,  and  here  the 
culinary  operations  are  carried  on. 

In  Strathearn  is  the  village  of  Fianntach,  of  or  be- 
longing to  the  Fingalians ;  in  the  neighbourhood  are 
numberless  cairns  raised  to  the  memory  of  Fingalian 
heroes.  These  cairns  are  the  "  gray  mossy  stones  "  of 
Ossian. 

"  Cam  Chumhail,"  Cuval's  cairn,  was  opened  some 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  2 4 1 

years  ago  and  found  to  contain  an  immense  stone 
coffin ;  near  this  was  "  Ossian's  tomb."  In  1746,  when 
General  Wade  formed  the  road  through  the  county,  it 
came  across  this  spot.  A  deputation  waited  on  the 
General,  asking  if  he  would  take  the  road  to  a  side  so 
as  not  to  disturb  the  last  repose  of  "  the  first  bard  of 
antiquity."  The  General,  however,  did  not  find  it 
convenient  to  comply  with  this  very  reasonable  desire. 
Perhaps  the  engineering  would  not  admit  of  it ;  and 
perhaps  he  had  a  secret  desire  to  put  the  merit  of  the 
tradition  to  the  test.  Certain  it  is  that  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  surrounding  country  collected  ;  they 
opened  the  grave,  and  there,  sure  enough,  found  the 
mortal  remains  of  their  loved  Ossian.  The  coffin  was 
composed  of  four  large  flag  stones  set  on  edge,  covered 
over  by  another  large  massy  stone.  They  lifted  all 
with  religious  care  and  veneration,  and  with  pipers  play- 
ing the  wail  of  the  coranich  they  marched  in  solemn 
sileice  to  the  top  of  a  neighbouring  hill.  There,  on 
the'top  of  that  green  heathery  hill,  they  dug  a  grave, 
and  there  laid  the  last  mortal  remains  of  Ossian,  the 
*weet  voice  of  Cona,  the  first  bard  of  antiquity ;  and 
there  they  are  likely  to  rest !  no  rude  hand  will  touch 
them,  no  desecration  reach  them  there. 

There  is  a  place  in  Glenelg  called  "Iomaire-nam-fear- 
mor,"  the  tall  or  big  men's  ridge.  Tradition  says  that 
two  of  the  Fingalians  were  drowned  whilst  crossing 
Caol-reathain,  and  that  they  are  interred  here.  A  gen- 
tleman, an  English  gentleman  I  believe,  who  was  tra- 
velling in  the  Highlands,  heard  of  this  tradition ;  he 
hinted  that  the  tradition  had  no  foundation,  and,  it  is 

VOL. IV.  R 


242     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

said,  made  maxxf  gratuitous  remarks  on  Highland  tradi- 
tions in  general,  and  those  of  the  Fingalians  in  parti- 
cular. To  refute  their  "  idle  tradition,"  as  he  chose  to 
term  it,  he  insisted  that  one  of  the  supposed  graves 
should  be  opened.  The  people  have  a  religious  venera- 
tion for  the  dead,  and  perhaps  a  latent  superstition 
against  disturbing  the  grave,  and  consequently  they 
were  very  much  averse  to  opening  the  mound.  Bather, 
however,  than  that  their  venerated  tradition  should  be 
termed  a  fable,  they  agreed  to  open  one  of  the  graves, 
and  the  grave  was  opened.  It  was  very  deep  ;  first 
there  was  the  gravelly  soil  common  to  the  place,  and 
then  a  thick  layer  of  moss  ;  after  that  the  gravelly  soil, 
when  they  came  upon  another  bed  of  moss,  in  which 
was  a  skeleton.  Moss  preserves,  and  it  was  for  that 
purpose  the  body  was  placed  in  it.  The  bones  were 
found  to  be  quite  fresh  and  of  an  extraordinary  size. 
No  person  ever  saw  anything  to  compare  with  thenl 
before,  and  it  is  said  no  person  could  at  all  credit  or 
even  imagine  the  size  of  them  but  those  who  saw  them. 
One  gentleman  who  was  present,  the  late  excellent 
Eev.  Mr.  Maclver  of  Glenelg,  and  father  of  the  much 
respected  present  minister  of  Killmuir,  Skye,  stood  six 
feet  two  inches  high  ;  he  was  very  stout  in  proportion, 
and  was  altogether  allowed  to  be  one  of  the  handsomest 
men  of  his  day.  Every  one  was  wonder-struck  at  the 
immensity  of  the  bones ;  he  took  the  lower  jaw-bone 
and  easily  put  his  head  through  it. 

It  is  added  that  it  was  a  beautiful  day ;  but  all  of 
a  sudden  there  came  on  thunder  and  lightning,  wind, 
and  deluging  rain,  the  like  of  which  no  man  ever  heard 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  243 

or  saw.  The  people  thought  judgment  had  come  upon 
them  for  desecrating  the  bones  of  the  dead,  and  inter- 
fering with  what  they  had  no  right,  so  they  closed  the 
grave  and  desisted.  Possibly^some  may  think  this 
bordering  on  the  marvellous ;  but  let  no  one  gainsay 
the  truth  of  it.  There  are  many  yet  living  who  were 
present,  all  of  whom  declare  that  they  "shall  never 
forget  the  day  and  the  scene  till  the  day  of  their  death." 
There  were  a  number  of  people  present,  gentlemen  from 
Skye,  and  many  from  the  mainland. 

I  have  never  heard  who  the  gentleman  was  whose 
scepticism  caused  the  opening  of  the  grave,  but  the 
incident  took  place  about  sixty  years  ago.* 

GUann-comhan — Glencoe,  that  is,  the  narrow  glen 
— is  said  by  tradition  to  be  the  birth-place  of  Ossian. 
If  there  is  in  Scotland  one  spot  more  than  another 
from  which  such  magnificent  creations  asOssian's  poems 
could  be  expected  to  emanate,  that  spot  is  Glencoe. 
Nothing  can  be  more  terrifically  sublime  than  Glencoe 
during  a  storm.      "Their  sound  was  like  a  thousand 

*  I  cannot  answer  for  these  facts,  but  I  can  vouch  for  the  cur- 
rency of  this  story  in  the  district ;  it  is  fully  believed  there. 
Unless  the  people  stumbled  upon  the  grave  of  a  real  giant,  they 
must  have  got  hold  of  the  bones  of  some  antediluvian  creature. 
A  grave  marked  by  two  large  stones,  some  ten  feet  apart,  was 
once  opened  by  a  relation  of  mine  elsewhere,  and  was  found  to 
contain  large  bones  and  coarse  hair  "like  horse  hair."  It  is 
asserted  that  the  skeleton  of  a  fossil  man  has  lately  been  found, 
and  that  several  "fossil"  skeletons  were  found  in  France  some 
time  ago,  and  buried  by  order  of  a  priest.  The  learned  are 
engaged  upon  the  discovery.  One  skull  is  said  to  bo  small,  and 
of  a  low  type ;  but  there  are  giant  Lapps  now. — J.  F.  C. 


244     GAELIC  POETRY  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BARDS, 

streams  that  meet  in  Cona's  vale,  when  after  a  stormy 
night  they  turn  their  dark  eddies  beneath  the  pale  light 
of  the  morning."  ..."  The  gloomy  ranks  of  Lochlin 
fell  like  banks  of  the  roaring  Cona."  "  If  he  overcomes, 
I  shall  rush  in  my  strength  like  the  roaring  stream  of 
Cona." 

Ossian  himself  is  frequently  called  "the  voice  of 
Cona."  "  Why  bends  the  bard  of  Cona,"  said  Fingal, 
"  over  his  secret  stream  Ì  Is  this  a  time  for  sorrow, 
father  of  low-laid  Oscar  ]" .  .  .  "  Such  were  the  words 
of  the  bards  in  the  days  of  song ;  when  the  king  heard 
the  music  of  harps — the  tales  of  other  times !  The 
chiefs  gathered  from  all  the  hills  and  heard  the  lovely 
sound.  They  heard  and  praised  the  voice  of  Cona,  the 
first  among  a  thousand  bards  !" 

In  Eadarloch — "  'twixt  lochs  " — Benderloch  is  the 
Selma  of  Ossian.  It  is  still  called  Selma.  It  is  also 
called  Bail-an-righ — the  king's  house  or  town ;  and 
Dun-MacSnitheachain — MacSniachain's  hill.  Here  also 
is  the  Beregonium  of  ancient  writers.  There  are  yet 
many  traces  that  Selma  was  once  the  residence  of  regal 
splendour.  There  is  a  vitrified  fort,  in  which  are 
found  "  swimming-stones."  There  were  found,  some 
years  ago,  in  a  moss  close  by,  some  pieces  of  a  wooden 
pipe.  This  pipe  is  supposed  to  have  been  used  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  water  to  the  fort  or  castle  from  the 
hill  hard  by.  It  is  said  that  Garbh-MacStaini  set 
FingaTs  castle  on  fire,  after  which  Fingal  left  the  place, 
and  resided  at  Fianntach,  already  alluded  to.  This 
tradition  seems  very  probable.  The  marks  of  some 
great  calamity  are  yet  to  be  seen. 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL.  245 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Selma  are  a  great  number 
of  those  stones  that  are  supposed  by  some  to  have  been 
Druidical  temples.  I  think  they  are  more  likely  to  be 
stones  erected  to  the  memory  of  fallen  warriors — "  the 
dark  gray  stones"  of  Ossian.  The  Fall  of  Connel — 
Ossian's  "roaring  Lora" — is  only  about  three  miles 
from  Selma.  Not  far  from  Connel  is  the  "  Luath,"  one 
of  Ossian's  streams.  "Dwells  there  no  joy  in  song, 
white  hand  of  the  harp  of  Luath  V  Opposite  Selma, 
on  the  other  side  of  Loch-Etive,  is  Dunstaffnage  Castle, 
the  residence  of  Sir  Angus  Campbell,  Bart.,  and  the 
Dun-Lora  of  Ossian.  The  Lora — Loch-Etive — washes 
its  base.  The  Gaelic  name  for  it  is  Dun-sta-innis,  but 
more  properly  Dun-da-innis,  from  two  islands  near  by. 
The  noise  of  the  roaring  Lora  is  certainly  awful  during 
flood-tides.  In  a  calm  summer  evening  it  is  heard  in 
the  island  of  Iiosmor,  distant  at  least  ten  or  twelve 
miles.* 

After  what  has  been  said,  I  do  not  think  it  is. 
necessary  to  say  more.  That  there  was  a  race  of  people 
called  the  Feinn  or  Fingalians,  I  think  no  unprejudiced 
mind  can  question.  That  these  Fingalians  were  tradi- 
tionally remembered  throughout  the  Highlands  is  per- 
fectly certain,  and  that  much  of  their  poetry  has  been 
plentifully  scattered  and  is  well  known  there  still,  is 
equally  true. 

I  have  given  the  names  of  some  from  whom  I 
myself  have  got  Ossianic  poetry,  and  I  could  give  the 

*  All  this  is  very  strong  internal  evidence  that  the  poems 
published  by  MacPherson  were  composed  by  some  bard  well 
acquainted  with  the  west  of  Scotland.-^!.  F.  G. 


246     GAELIC  POETBT  OF  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN  BAUDS, 

names  of  ten  times  more  from  whom  I  could  get  it  I 
know  where  and  with  whom  it  is  to  be  got  in  abun- 
dance, and,  did  necessity  require  it,  I  could  easily  pro- 
cure it.  Some,  I  believe,  imagine,  in  the  simplicity  of 
their  heart,  that  MacPhereon,  the  translator,  was  the 
author  of  Ossian's  poems.  Perhaps  it  was  MacPhereon 
that  also  composed  the  thousand  and  one  Fingalian 
tales  that  are  floating  throughout  the  Highlands  l  and 
all  the  anecdotes  of  the  Fingalians  ?  Well,  if  so,  I  can 
only  say  that  MacPhereon  must  have  been  very  busy 
in  his  day. 

Why  should  not  Ossian's  poetry  be  handed  down 
from  generation  to  generation  like  the  rest  of  the  Fin- 
galian tales  Ì  I  do  not  think  that  any  can  be  found 
bold  enough  to  question  the  authenticity  of  the  tales. 
I  do  not  believe  that  any  person  doubts  the  antiquity 
of  the  Celtic  fables  and  romances.  It  is  more  than 
probable  they  were  composed  at  least  three  thousand 
years  ago,  and  brought  by  the  Celtic  nations  in  their 
migrations  from  the  East.  If,  therefore,  the  Celtae 
have  preserved  their  fabulous  tales  and  romances  for 
the  long  period  of  three  thousand  years  or  more,  and 
repeat  them  still,  why  not,  on  the  same  principle,  pre- 
serve amongst  them  the  magnificent  creations  of  Ossian 
for,  at  least,  half  the  time  Ì 

Homer  flourished  more  than  nine  hundred  years 
B.O.,  and  his  poems  floated  amongst  the  Greeks  for 
more  than  Ave  hundred  years,  till  the  Greek  historian 
collected  them.  Yet  their  authenticity  was  never  ques- 
tioned. Were  the  ancient  Greeks  more  addicted  to 
poetry,  and  consequently  more  capable  of  preserving 


PUBLISHED  AND  TRADITIONAL,  247 

the  creations  of  Homer  than  the  Celtae  those  of  Ossian  Ì 
I  can  hardly  believe  so.  There  is  a  very  strong  resem- 
blance betwixt  Homer'  and  Ossian.  Both  flourished 
in  a  primitive  state  of  society,  and  both  are  equally 
the  poets  of  nature  and  of  nature's  laws.  If  there 
is  an  analogy  betwixt  Homer  and  Ossian,  why  not 
betwixt  the  preservation  of  their  works  ? 

That  poetry  of  the  most  magnificent  description 
has  been  common  throughout  the  Highlands  from  ages 
immemorial  is  unquestionable ;  that  much  of  that 
poetry  has  always  been  ascribed  to  Ossian  is  equally 
certain  ;  and  that  he  was  the  author  of  much  of  it  is 
more  than  probable.  The  ancient  Highlanders  never 
for  a  single  moment  doubted  the  authenticity  of  Ossian's 
poems.  The  modern  Highlanders  believe  in  those  which 
they  know  and  repeat  as  certainly  and  as  implicitly  as 
they  do  in  the  Song  of  Solomon  or  the  Psalms  of  David. 
This  I  can  testify  to  from  personal  observation.  I 
believe  in  them  myself — fully  believe.  I  am  literally 
convinced  that  Fingal  lived  and  that  Ossian  sang. 

Alexander  A.  Carmichael. 
Skye,  28th  November  1861. 

Mr.  Carmichael  has  also  referred  to  many  of  the 
printed  authorities  quoted  by  me  above,  to  prove  that, 
shortly  before  MacPherson's  time,  collections  of  poetry 
attributed  to  Ossian  had  been  made  in  the  High- 
lands of  Scotland. 

In  a  letter  dated  December  9th,  the  writer  of  the 
above  able  paper  gives  an  amusing  account  of  a  walk 


248  OSSIAN. 

through  rain  and  storm  to  visit  an  old  dame,  Catrina 
ni  Mhathain,  who  is  seventy-six,  and  fully  confirms 
what  has  been  said  above.  She  is  a  capital  singer  of 
Ossianic  lays,  and  praises  the  singing  of  a  certain  cate- 
chist,  Donald  Maclain  ic  Eogbain,  of  whom  frequent 
mention  is  made,  and*  who  died  many  years  ago.  It 
was  his  wont  to  gather  crowds  of  people  by  chanting 
these  old  lays.  I  have  heard  the  same  account  of  a 
Sutherland  reciter.  It  seems  that  preachers  and  mis- 
sionaries did  not  formerly  condemn  Gaelic  poetry,  and 
the  minority  who  do  so  now  are  not  of  the  best  edu- 
cated, so  far  as  my  experience  goes. 

The  old  dame  was  asked  if  she  had  ever  heard  tell 
of  Osein.  "Who,  my  dear?"  she  said  in  surprise. 
"  Osein  and  the  Fein ;  did  you  ever  hear  tell  of  them?" 
"Lord  bless  us!"  said  the  old  lady,  "who  has  not 
heard  tell  of  Osein  !  gentle  Oisein,  the  son  of  Fionn — 
Oisein  after  the  Feinne  V9 

I  agree  with  Mr.  Carmichael  that  this  exclamation 
is  worth  volumes  of  argument. 

And  now,  having  given  all  the  evidence  which  I 
have,  let  me  give  my  own  opinion  on  this  much  vexed 
question. 

I  hold  that  there  is  nothing  to  prove  that  MacPher- 
son,  Ossian,  or  any  other  individual,  composed  the  Gaelic 
poems  of  1807 — or  that  they  are  older  than  MacPher- 
son's  time  as  a  whole — but  there  is  a  mass  of  evidence 
to  prove  that  he  had  genuine  materials,  some  of  which 
we  also  have  got  for  ourselves,  and  there  is  a  strong 
presumption  that  he  had  something  which  we  have 


OSSIAN— CONCLUSION.  249 

not  Nothing  was  forthcoming  after  MacPherson's 
death  except  his  manuscript  which  was  published;  so 
that  is  one  "  fact,"  at  all  events. 

When  it  is  considered  how  much  old  poetry  rests 
upon  the  existence  of  single  manuscripts  in  other  lan- 
guages, and  that  MacPherson  certainly  had  a  mass  of 
materials,  it  is  possible  that  there  may  have  been  some 
compounder  of  poems  far  older  than  the  man  who 
gets  the  credit  and  discredit  of  "  Ossian  ;"  still  there  is 
nothing  but  "Ossian's  Poems"  to  prove  that  their 
composer  lived  anywhere  at  any  time.  It  is  certain 
that  the  heroes  have  been  Celtic  worthies  for  centuries, 
and  that  their  exploits  have  been  celebrated  in  Gaelic 
verse  ever  since  the  ninth  century,  if  not  the  seventh : 
but  of  the  published  Gaelic  Ossian  as  an  entire  work 
there  is  not  a  trace  before  MacPherson's  time.  I  have 
no  doubt  that  the  work  is  founded  upon  genuine  old 
popular  materials,  and  I  would  rank  it  for  originality 
with  Tennyson's  "  Idylls  of  the  King,"  or  "  Homer,"  if 
the  Greek  poems  were  floating  ballads  before  they  were 
made  into  epic  poems.  But  till  the  author  is  dis- 
covered, MacPherson's  name  must  be  associated  with 
his  publication.  That  must  rank  as  a  Scoto-Gaelic  work 
at  least  a  hundred  years  old,  and  till  the  contrary  is 
proved,  Ireland  has  not  a  ghost  of  a  claim  to  it. 

"  MacPherson's  Ossian  "  is,  as  I  conceive,  without 
doubt  a  composite  work,  to  be  ranked  in  the  class 
which  I  have  numbered  5th  or  6th  ;  poetry  made  up  of 
various  materials,  ancient  and  modern,  like  houses  which 
I  have  seen  in  ancient  Greece.  There,  an  old  Corinthian 
capital  is  placed  upside  down  in  one  corner,  its  graceful 


t$0  06S1AN — OOlfOLUSION. 

acanthus  leaves  drooping  upwards,  and  beside  it  lies 
a  fluted  shaft,  with  boulders  and  turf  resting  upon  it, 
— sculptured  white  marble  is  mingled  with  ordinary 
stones  of  the  roughest  description,  and  the  whole  is 
bound  together  with  lime  and  cement,  overgrown  with 
weeds,  and,  it  may  be,  daubed  with  ignoble  mud ;  but 
MacPherson's  Ossian,  like  the  Greek  hut,  is,  in  the 
main,  composed  of  genuine  materials,  and  a  clever 
antiquary,  or  a  good  critic,  might  yet  pick  out  all  the 
old  fragments,  and  mayhap  arrange  them  more  scienti- 
fically. To  do  so  would  be  loss  of  labour,  for  we  have 
a  mass  of  similar  materials,  Scotch  and  Irish.  The 
Greek  hut,  with  all  its  incongruities,  dirt,  and  discom- 
fort, with  its  dress  of  shrubs  and  lichens,  and  utter 
disregard  of  the  rules  of  architecture,  is  more  likely 
to  attract  a  painter's  eye  than  the  most  symmetrical 
museum  of  antiquities,  geology,  and  botany,  or  the 
most  luxurious  brick  palace  in  London  ;  and  so  Ossian 
has  attracted  the  notice  and  the  admiration  of  famous 
men,  who  would  not  have  bestowed  a  thought  upon 
popular  tales  and  ballads  separately  arranged,  and 
classed  in  due  order,  as  I  have  striven  to  do  with  my 
stores. 

Ossian  is  a  fiction,  but  a  structure  founded  upon 
facts,  a  work  built  mainly  of  Scotch  materials,  worked 
by  Scotch  minds  long  ago — a  very  famous  work  a 
century  old,  which  is  known  far  and  wide,  while  that 
of  honest  John  Gillies  is  almost  quite  unknown.  But 
the  fame  of  the  architect  is  not  to  be  coveted,  for  the 
stigma  of  dishonesty  rests  upon  his  name.  MacPher- 
son  undoubtedly  tried  to  deceive,  and  especially  when 


08SIAN CONCLUSION.  2  5  1 

he  denied  to  Ireland  all  share  in  the  heroes  of  Ossian,  or 
seemed  to  claim  the  entire  work  as  his  own  invention. 
If  this  be  correct ;  if  such  was  the  real  nature  of 
the  work;  when  the  author  held  his  peace  and  refused 
any  explanation;  when  party  spirit  ran  high,  and  Scotch 
were  rebels,  there  was  room  for  controversy.  Anti- 
quaries might  fall  upon  the  traditional  and  genuine, 
because  it  seemed  modern,  and  deny  the  antiquity  of 
the  whole.  Irishmen  might  recognise  bits  of  their 
property,  and  claim  the  entire  work.  Indignant  Scotch- 
men, knowing  their  own,  might  fret  and  fume  and 
plead  possession,  and  defend  the  right  and  the  wrong  > 
and  the  "  Grail,"  the  stranger,  knowing  nothing  of  the 
case,  hearing  the  din,  and  called  on  to  accept  the  whole 
as  historically  true,  and  a  genuine  work,  complete,  and 
completely  preserved  by  tradition  alone,  for  some 
fifteen  centuries,  might  well  indignantly  reject  the 
whole  as  a  set  of  impudent  forgeries  and  fictions. 
John  Bull  is  "  not  going  to  be  gulled,"  and  "  he  will 
not  believe  anything  of  a  man  who  tries  to  do  him 
once,"  and  so  everything  Gaelic  is  suspected  to  this 
day.  In  this  battle  of  the  inky  plumes  all  sides  might 
well  lose  their  tempers,  or  spoil  them.  But,  for  all 
that,  truth  may  now  be  found  amongst  the  relics  of  the 
strife,  amongst  wasted  ink  and  spoilt  paper ;  and  the 
truth,  as  I  imagine,  lies  as  usual  somewhere  in  the 
middle.  She  may  be  enticed  out  of  her  well  by  coax- 
ing, patience,  and  perseverance,  but  she  is  only  driven 
deeper,  and  far  out  of  sight,  by  wrangling  critics,  who 
fight  for  her  favours  as  men  have  fought,  and  are  still 
fighting,  for  the  truth  of  this  Ossianic  controversy. 


1 5  *  088IAN CONCLUSION PROVERBS. 

When  "  Flosi  (in  the  Njal  Saga)  undertook  to  tell 
the  story  of  the  burning,  he  was  fair  to  all ;  and  there- 
fore what  he  said  was  believed."  I  have  tried  to  tell 
my  story  fairly,  and  if  any  one  holds  a  different 
opinion,  let  him  not  quarrel  with  mine. 

"  Cogadh  na  sith,"  strife  or  peace,  is  an  old  Gaelic 
watchword.  We  have  tried  the  first  for  a  century,  and 
made  very  little  by  it,  except  bad  blood ;  let  Celts  try 
a  turn  on  the  other  road,  and,  at  all  events,  let  us  give 
up  fighting  amongst  ourselves. 

There  is  an  old  monkey  of  my  acquaintance  whose 
wont  it  is  to  hoist  his  hind  leg  over  his  shoulder,  and 
lean  his  head  confidingly  on  the  sole  of  his  foot,  and 
caress  his  ears  with  his  toes,  till  his  toes,  in  some 
strange  unaccountable  manner,  excite  his  wrath ;  then 
he  seizes  the  offending  foot  in  both  hands,  and  grins 
defiance  at  it,  and  cuffs  it  and  bites  it,  till  a  new  freak 
comes  over  him,  and  he  sits  down  upon  his  heels,  and 
goes  to  sleep  again,  at  peace  with  himself  and  the  rest 
of  the  world. 

I  never  see  this  venerable  pug  without  thinking 
that  he  must  be  the  embodied  spirit  of  the  Ossianic 
controversy,  which  it  is  my  ambition  to  lull  fast  asleep 
for  good  and  alL 


Proverbs. 

Gaelic  proverbs  mention  the  Feinne,  and  do  not 
indicate  the  existence  of  a  petty  quarrelsome  spirit  in 
former  days  amongst  them. 


ossian proverbs.  253 

396.*  Clanna  nan  Gael  an  guaillin  a  cheiile. 

Gaelic  clans  at  each  other's  shoulders. 

Shews  at  least  an  appreciation  of  the  blessings  of 
concord,  and  it  is  a  great  pity  that  they  will  not 
now  act  up  to  this,  their  favourite  sentiment. 

379.  Cha  b'  ionan  O'Brian  is  na  Gael. 

O'Brian  and  the  Gael  were  unlike. 

They  certainly  were  once  unlike  those  of  the  pre- 
sent day  who  quarrel  with  each  other.  These 
are  rather  like  another  worthy. 

77.    IS  OLO  DO  BEATHA  CHONAIN  ! 

Bad  's  thy  being  Conan. 

148.  Cha  d'  fhuair  Conan  riamh  dorn  gun  dorn  a 
thoirt  g*a  cheann. 
Conan  never  got  cuff  without  giving  cuff  back. 
Their  treatment  of  each  other  is 

154.  Cairdeas  Chonain  ris  na  deonabh. 

Conan's  kindness  to  the  demons,  i.e.,  "cuff  for 

cuff,"  or  "  claw  for  claw."t 
This  quarrelsome  spirit  was  not  that  of  the  Druids. 

5.  Ga  fogasg  clach  do  lar  is  foisge  no  sin  cobh- 
air  choibhidh. 
Though  a  stone  be  near  earth,  nearer  than  that 

is  Coivi's  aid. 
(The  arch  Druid  Coivi  or  Cefaeus.     See  Bede.) 

*  The  numbers  refer  to  Macintosh's  Collection. 

+  There  is  a  story  which  I  have  not  yet  got,  about  Conan 
going  to  the  Is  e  of  Cold  and  holding  combat  with  its  ghostly 
inhabitants. 

It  is  probably  something  like  the  story  of  the  Master  Smith 
in  the  Norse  Tales. 


254  os81an proverbs. 

147.  Cho  teomadh   ri  Cotbhi  Druidh. 
As  clever  as  Coivi  Druid. 
This  was  a  wise  helpful  character. 

24.  Deas-ail  air  gachni. 

Sunwise  (ready  able)  for  everything. 
Fionn  was  like  him. 

113.  Cha  d'  chuir  Fionn  riamh  blar  gun  chumh- 
achd  (or  (?)  chumha). 

Fion  never  joined  fight  without  might  (or  (?) 
wailing). 

229.  Cha  do  threig  Fionn  riamh  car  aid  a  laimh 

DHEAS. 

Fionn  never  forsook  his  right  hand  friend. 

His  was  the  character  of  a  sagacious,  successful 
military  leader,  who  agreed  with  his  friends, 
though  he  did  not  forgive  one  great  injury 
till  too  late,  and  avenged  it  by  subtlety. 

178.  Cho  chumseach  lamh  ri  Conloch. 
As  powerful-handed  as  Conloch. 

336.  Cho  ladir  ri  Cuchullin. 
As  strong  as  Cuchullin. 
Are  the  characteristics  of  brave  soldiers. 

101.    COTHRAM  NA  FeINE  DHOIBH. 

Be  theirs  the  Feme's  advantage. 

"  Clean  pith  and  fair  play"  (Kelley's    Prov.)  is 

a  soldier-like  motto,  but  it  is  not  quarrelsome. 

It  does   not  indicate  the  life  which   modern. 

writers  have  led  each  other  on  this  subject. 
32.   Beath  'Chonain  a  measg  nan  deamhain,  ma's 

OLO  DHOMH  CHA  'n  FHEARR  DHAIBH. 


OSSIAN — PROVERBS.  255 

Conan's  life  amongst  the  demons.  If  bad  for 
me  no  better  for  them.    A  sort  of  dog's  life. 

46.  Mar  e  Bran  is  e  bhrathair. 
If  not  Bran,  his  brother. 

A  life  of  strife  which  destroyed  the  Fenians  long  ago, 
when  they  took  to  it,  and  fought  till  there  was 
but  one  left. 
66.  Mar  bha  Ossian  an  dei  na  Fiannabh. 
As  Ossian  was  after  the  Fians. 
A  miserable  old  man  in  the  house  of  a  stranger 
to  his  race. 

213.  Cha  'n  fhiach  sgeul  gun  urrain. 
A  tale  without  warrant  is  worthless. 

2.  Mas  breug  uam  e  is  breug  thugam  e. 
If  lie  from  me  it  is,  lie  to  me  it  was. 
The  Gael  fell  out  amongst  themselves,  and  thereby 
lost  the  plain  long  ago,  according  to  the  proverbs. 

105.  An  lon  dubh,  an  londubh  spagach  !  thug  mise 
dha  choile  fhasga  fhearach  ;  *s  thug  esan. 
domhsa  am  monadh  dubh  fa8aich. 

The  black  elk,  the  shambling  black  elk,  I  gave 
him  the  sheltered  grassy  wood,  and  he  gave  me 
the  black  desert  mountain. 

For  whether  the  word  means  Elk  or  Ousel,  and 
the  proverb  applies  to  Eomans  or  Scandinavians, 
or  to  something  else,  it  is  applicable  to  the 
present  time.  The  Gael  have  fought  till  they 
have  been  driven  to  find  other  fields.  Many 
an  American  back-woodsman  may  turn  his 
thoughts  to  the  old  country  and  think  of  the 
old  battle  cry. 


256  OSBIAN — PB0VEBB8 — FAMILY  HISTORY. 

26.    IS   FAD   AN   EIOH   A    LOCHA  IS    OOBHAIB  O   CHLAN 
O'DuiBHNE. 

The  cry  is  far  from  Lochawe,  and  aid  from  the 
clan  of  O'Duibhne. 

Whether  the  Fenians  were  Scotch  or  Irish  it  is 
the  same.  The  most  of  their  Gaelic  descen- 
dants have  left  the  hills  and  plains  for  which 
they  fought,  chiefly  because  they  fought 
amongst  themselves. 

Family  History. 

About  1706,  Mr.  Alexander  Campbell,  second  son 
of  Campbell  of  Craignish,  was  employed  by  John 
Duke  of  Argyll  to  examine  and  sort  his  archives  and 
charters,  and  he  left  what  is  called  the  "Craignish 
manuscript"  He  mentions  old  manuscripts  in  the 
Irish  character  then  extant,  genealogical  and  historical, 
and  tells  that  Irish  historians  had  traced  the  "  clan 
Duin"  from  the  Dalruadinian  colonists  of  ArgylL 

"The  Craignish  manuscript "  is  quoted  in  a  history 
of  the  Campbells  which  was  written  about  the  begin- 
ning of  this  century,  and  is  now  in  my  possession  in 
MS.  The  following  passages  bear  upon  the  Ossianic 
controversy : — 

"  When  but  a  boy,  I  listened  with  a  greedy  ear  to 
the  traditions  and  poems  of  my  country,  of  which  there 
are  very  many  ;  ornate,  flowery,  and  elegant  as  those 
of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Eomans,  and  had  they  but 
as  much  art,  might,  for  natural  invention,  stand  in  the 
roll  of  feme,  and  vie  with  the  most  celebrated  poems 


FAMILY  HISTORY.  257 

of  these  ancient  nations,  which  have  been  handed  down 
to  our  times  ! " 

It  is  thus  proved  that  in  the  youth  of  a  man  who 
wrote  more  than  fifty  years  before  "the fragments"  ap- 
peared, poems  existed  in  the  West  Highlands,  which  a 
well-educated  gentleman  considered  to  be  comparable  to 
the  works  of  the  classical  poets,  and  these  could  scarcely 
be  the  popular  ballads  now  recited.  But  they  were  not 
the  poems  of  1807,  whatever  they  may  have  been. 

"  With  regard  to  the  Fingalians,"  he  says,  "  they 
were  an  Irish  militia,  raised  in  the  ninth  century, 
under  the  command  of  Fion  MacCouill,  who  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  provincial  kings  of  Ireland  General-in- 
Chief,  with  several  inferior  commanders,  one  of  the 
most  eminent  of  whom  was  Diarmid.  This  force  con- 
sisted of  7000  men  in  time  of  peace,  and  21,000  in 
time  of  war,  and  was  levied  and  maintained  for  the 
purpose  of  repelling  the  Danes  and  Norwegians,  whose 
frequent  incursions  and  bloody  invasions  had  desolated 
that  country  for  many  years  before." 

To  this  quotation  the  writer  of  the  history,  who 
was  an  implicit  believer  in  MacPherson's  Ossian,  adds 
this  note : — 

"  This  mistaken  idea,  that  Diarmid  was  an  Irish- 
man by  birth,  misled  the  ancient  genealogists,  of  the 
family  of  Argyll  and  those  of  some  of  their  kinsmen, 
as  will  appear  afterwards ;  and  they  sought  in  Ireland 
for  what  was  to  be  found  in  Argyll11 

Hence  it  appears  that  as  late  as  1707,  the  author 
of  the  Craignish  MSS.,  like  the  early  genealogists  of 
one  of  the  west  country  clans  to  whose  records  he  had 
vol,  rv.  s 


258  FAMILY  HISTORY. 

access,  claimed  a  descent  from  Diarmid  O'Duin,  and 
believed  his  clan  to  be  of  Irish  extraction. 

About  forty  years  later,  the  existence  of  this  belief 
was  referred  to  by  Duncan  Forbes  in  his  "  Memorial 
on  the  Clans,"  drawn  up  for  Government  in  1745, 
when  he  wrote — 

"  The  Campbells  are  called  in  Gaelic  Clan  Guin  or 
O'Duine.  The  Duke  of  Argyll  is  their  chief ;  he  is 
called  in  the  Highlands  MacCalain  Mor." 

It  is  thus  made  evident  that  FingaTs  kingdom  of 
Morven  had  not  been  heard  of  in  Argyll  in  1707,  for 
those  who  claimed  to  be  descended  from  Fionn's  nephew 
would  surely  have  mentioned  Fingal's  misty  dominions. 
The  man  who  admired  the  poems  which  were  cur- 
rent in  his  day  would  never  have  claimed  a  descent 
from  the  Fenians  of  Ireland  if  he  had  known  of  a 
Scotch  historical  epic  about  "Fingal"  and  "Diarmaid;" 
and  the  ancient  poets,  and  family  bards  and  genealogists 
whom  he  quoted,  must  have  heard  of  these  poems,  if 
they  had  existed  in  their  day. 

Several  clan  genealogies  (e.g.,  the  MacGregor's)  claim 
a  descent  from  Arthur,  "  Art,"  and  Irish  kings,  but  I 
have  never  heard  of  one  that  mentions  "  the  King  of 
Morven,"  though  it  has  been  common  to  speak  of  the 
Highlanders  as  the  descendants  of  the  Feinne.  Thus 
family  history  agrees  with  tradition.  There  probably 
were  Fenians,  whose  chief  was  Fionn,  but  in  the  lapse 
of  time  these  have  acquired  a  fictitious  history,  in 
which  the  traces  of  a  pagan  mythology  appear. 

Note. — On  referring  again  to  MacNicol's  book,  mentioned  above 
under  1779, 1  find  that  he  had  read  the  Gaelic  of  the  seventh  book 
of  Temora,  and  held  that  it  was  not  composed  by  MacPherson. 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  259 


II.— TKADITIONS. 

British  Traditions. 

In  the  preceding  pages  I  have  endeavoured  to 
separate  the  "Poems  of  Ossian"  from  the  popular 
traditions  on  which  they  are  partly  founded,  and  to 
shew  that  many  of  these  are  of  great  antiquity,  whatever 
may  be  the  real  date  of  Gaelic  poems,  popular  ballads, 
or  their  common  heroes.  It  is  now  thought  probable 
that  old  British  traditions  were  the  materials  of  which 
the  romances  of  the  middle  ages  were  made ;  so  it  may 
be  of  interest  to  point  out  that  Gaelic  popular  romances 
now  current  have  some  relation  to  ancient  romance. 

In  1805  three  volumes  were  published  by  George 
Ellis,  Esq.,  which  gave  specimens  of  "  Early  English 
metrical  romances,  chiefly  written  during  the  early  part 
of  the  fourteenth  century."  Amongst  these  an  account 
is  given  of  "  Marie's  Lays,"  which  are  twelve  in  num- 
ber, and  were  offered  by  the  authoress  to  the  king 
"  probably  Henry  the  Third,"  she  says — 

"  Li  Breton  ont  fait  les  lais," 

which  she  translated,  "  which  she  had  heard,  and  had 
carefully  treasured  in  her  memory ;"  and  which  she 
knows  to  be  true.  This  lady  was  the  Armorican 
MacPherson  of  the  thirteenth  century. 

Her  heroes  and  heroines  are  all  Celtic,  and  current 
Gaelic  popular  tales  and  Breton  ballads  can  still  be 
traced  in  her  lays.     No.  4,  "  Bisclaveret,"  is  the  well 


260  BRITISH  TBADITIOKB. 

known  "  Loup  Garow  "  which  the  Normans  call  "  Gar- 
wolf,"  and  which  is  well  known  to  the  peasants  of 
France  at  this  day,  and  was  known  to  ancient  authors. 
I  have  no  story  like  that  of  the  old  lay,  but  a  glance 
at  these  volumes  will  shew  that  the  notion  of  men  and 
women  and  supernaturals,  who  assumed  the  forms  of 
animals,  and  resumed  their  own  by  putting  off  a 
"cochal,"  a  husk,  or  dress,  is  one  of  the  commonest 
incidents  in  Gaelic  popular  tales  ;  so  this  wolf  is  only 
one  of  a  class. 

We  have  transformed  deer,  seals,  a  hen,  horses, 
ravens,  crows,  little  dogs,  grim  hounds,  and  all  manner 
of  creatures  ;  and  in  this,  Gaelic  tales  do  but  resemble 
those  of  other  countries,  including  those  of  India,  which 
are  full  of  talking  creatures.  No.  7,  "  Ywonec,"  is  very 
like  the  well-known  story  of  "  the  blue  bird,"  and  has 
relations  in  Gaelic.  It  is  a  story  of  a  fair  lady  who 
was  visited  by  a  lover,  a  great  personage,  in  the  form 
of  a  bird,  and  had  children  by  him,  who  lost  him  by  a 
fault  of  her  own,  followed  him  to  his  distant  country, 
where  he  was  a  chief  ruler,  living  in  splendour,  and 
brought  him  back.  No.  3  is  a  specimen  of  this  legend ; 
so  is  the  story  of  beauty  and  the  beast ;  so  is  No.  1 2  • 
so  is  the  legend  of  Cupid  and  Psyche;  and  the  story 
in  various  shapes  will  be  found  in  nearly  every 
modern  collection  of  popular  tales.  Marie's  lay  varies 
from  the  usual  ending  of  the  story,  for  her  great  falcon 
prince  dies.  The  characters  go  to  "Caer-leon,"  and 
I  have  no  doubt  this  was  a  popular  English  story. 
No.  9,  "Milun,"  is  about  a  knight  of  South  Wales, 
whose  reputation  spread  to  Ireland,  Norway,  Gothland, 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  26 1 

Loegria  (England),  and  Albany  (Scotland);  and  his 
name  is  like  Gaelic  "  Milidh,"  a  hero  (Latin,  miles). 
The  story  is  something  like  that  of  the  son  of  Cuchulin, 
of  which  MacFherson  has  made  an  episode.  A  knight 
has  a  son  by  a  beautiful  lady,  and  gives  her  a  gold  ring, 
which  she  ties  about  the  child's  neck,  and  then  they  send 
it  away  to  be  brought  up  secretly.  The  son  grows  up, 
sets  off  in  search  of  adventures,  and  finally  has  a  fight 
with  his  own  father,  whom  he  does  not  know^t  first, 
but  whom  he  afterwards  recognises.  The  tradition 
varies  considerably  from  the  frame-work  of  the  old  lay, 
but  it  has  been  worked  up  into  a  vast  number  of  shapes 
in  tales  preserved  in  Irish  manuscripts.  An  abstract  of 
a  traditional  version  will  be  found  at  page  184,  voL  iii 
The  scene  of  the  legend  is  laid  in  Skye,  Scythia,  England, 
Brittany  and  Cornwall ;  but  I  strongly  suspect  that  it 
was  originally  laid  somewhere  in  the  far  East  All 
these  ancient  lays  are  dressed  by  their  authoress  in  the 
costumes  and  manners  of  the  court  of  that  day.  There 
are  knights,  and  noble  ladies,  tournaments,  and  church- 
men; they  are  not  true,  for  men  do  not  assume  the 
forms  of  animals,  but  they  were  surely  founded  on 
popular  traditions,  as  their  authoress  said,  and  some, 
of  them  are  still  popular  tales  in  the  West  Highlands. 

A  glance  at  O'Curry's  lectures  will  shew  that  the 
Gael  have  delighted  for  ages  in  dressing  up  their  own 
traditions  in  a  romantic  dress  of  their  own  contrivance, 
and  that  they  did  not  copy  the  decorations  of  such 
court  bards  as  Marie. 

"  Sir  Tristrem  "  is  attributed  to  Thomas  the  Rymour 
and  the  thirteenth  century ;  and  Chrestian  de  Troyes, 


2 62  BRITISH  TRADITIONS. 

a  French  poet,  is  said  to  have  composed  a  romance 
about  the  same  hero  in  the  twelfth  ;  the  incidents  of 
the  romance  were  very  widely  known  and  used  in 
Europe.  The  hero  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  chief- 
tain of  the  sixth  century,  and  one  of  Arthur's  knights, 
therefore  a  Briton.  The  scene  is  laid  in  Cornwall, 
Wales,  and  other  parts  of  Britain,  by  all  the  authors 
who  made  poems  out  of  the  story.  The  whole  romance 
turns  upon  the  attachment  of  a  knight  for  his  uncle's 
wife.  It  is  said  that  "  Mark,"  king  of  Cornwall,  is  not 
a  Celtic  name,  but  one  derived  from  "  Marcus,"  but  it 
is  a  Celtic  word,  and  means  a  horse.  The  whole  story 
of  the  poem,  as  given  in  the  history  of  Scottish  Poetry, 
is  like  a  building  made  of  an  old  red  sandstone,  foil 
of  pebbles  of  popular  tales.  Tristrem  disguised  is  like 
the  story  of  the  Great  Fool,  which  is  like  the  boyish 
exploits  of  Fin  in  old  Irish.  The  sailing  about  in 
ships  with  the  Norwegians,  the  landing  in  ufcknown 
countries,  the  travels  through  "the  seven  kingdoms," 
the  chess  playing,  the  "  Croude "  (harp),  "  Seyn 
Patricke,"  "  Carlionn,"  the  "  Queen  of  Ireland,"  the 
ladies  tending  the  sick  knight,  the  dragon  and  the 
story  of  its  death,  the  false  steward  and  his  punish- 
ment, the  rash  promise  to  give  something  before 
asking  what  is  required — the  names,  which  have  a 
Gaelic  meaning,  and  the  ground  work  of  the  whole 
story,  all  point  to  a  Celtic  origin.  It  is  but  a  phase 
of  the  story  which  Irish  and  Scotch  Gael  have  worked 
into  so  many  forms,  the  story  of  Diarmaid  and  Graidhne. 
But  the  language  of  the  old  ballad  has  nothing  to  do 
with  Gaelic  idioms,  the  metre  is  different  from  any 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  263 

Gaelic  poetry  which  I  have  read,  and  above  all,  the 
spirit  and  sentiment  are  wholly  different  from  the 
Gaelic  of  "  Ossian,"  "Mordubh,"  and  "  Seann 
Dana"  It  seems  from  Sir  Tristrem  that  Celtic  tradi- 
tions were  worked  into  poems  in  Scotland  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  and  that  they  are  now  attributed  to 
the  lowland  Scotch  mythical  "  Bymour,"  as  they  are 
attributed  to  the  mythical  "  Ossian"  in  the  Highlands. 
Eut  the  Irish  assure  us  that  the  elopement  of  Finn's 
wife  was  a  real  event,  though  the  story  is  like  that  of 
Venus  and  Adonis,  and  is  probably  as  old  as  Sanscrit 
mythology. 

But  of  all  these  ancient  romances  the  story  of 
"Morte  Arthur"  and  that  of  Sir  Lancelot  most  re- 
semble current  Highland  traditions.  The  story,  when 
stripped  to  the  bones,  is  almost  identical  with  the  love 
story  of  the  history  of  the  Feinne.  Arthur,  a  king  of 
the  Britons,  not  in  the  prime  of  life,  courts  a  fair 
maiden,  Guenever,  whom  he  afterwards  makes  his 
queen,  and  who  was  distinguished  for  cleverness  as 
well  as  beauty.  Fionn,  the  king  of  the  Feinne,  courts 
Grainne,  daughter  of  Cormac,  who  was  the  wisest  as 
well  as  the  handsomest  of  women.  Lancelot  du  lac, 
on  his  first  appearance  at  court,  inspires  Guenever  or 
Ganore  with  love. 

Diarmaid,  Fionn's  nephew,  at  his  first  meeting 
with  Grainne,  inadvertently  shews  a  spot  on  his  fore- 
head which  no  woman  can  see  without  loving  him. 

Arthur  marries  Guenever,  Fionn  marries  Grainne. 
Guenever  the  queen  is  sent  to  a  distant  province,  and 
Lancelot  follows  willingly.     Diarmaid  runs  away  from 


264  BRITISH  TRADITIONS. 

Grainne,  and  is  pursued  by  her,  and  she  by  clever 
artifices  obliges  him  to  run  away  with  her. 

Guenever  is  carried  off  from  Arthur  by  a  felon 
knight.  Grainne  runs  away  from  Diarmaid  with  a 
wild  man.  Sir  Lancelot  recovers  the  queen.  Diarmaid 
rejoins  Grainne.  Sir  Lancelot  throughout  the  story  is 
the  queen's  paramour.  Diarmaid  yields  to  temptation 
at  last,  or  as  the  story  is  often  told,  does  not  yield 
at  alL  At  last  Arthur's  eyes  are  opened,  and  he  seeks 
revenge  with  perseverance,  and  determination,  and 
rancour.  Fionn,  when  he  is  convinced  of  his  wife's 
infidelity,  plots  the  death  of  his  nephew,  and  pursues 
him  to  the  death  Arthur  pursues  Lancelot  with 
knights  and  armies,  and  besieges  him  in  castles,  but 
always  within  Celtic  bounds.  Fionn  pursues  Diar- 
maid all  over  Gaelic  countries,  and  at  last  devises  a 
treacherous  hunting  party  for  his  destruction.  In 
Irish  versions  of  the  story  the  castles  aTe  replaced  by 
magic  trees.  In  the  Highlands  they  are  simply  caves 
and  deep  glens.  Lancelot  is  never  overthrown,  and  is  a 
full  armed,  peerless  knight.  Diarmaid  is  a  peerless 
"  Fenian/ '  "the  expert  shield,"  armed  with  sword  and 
dart  and  helmet,  invulnerable  save  in  the  sole  of  his 
foot ;  and  neither  the  Breton  nor  the  Gael  will  do  any 
hurt  to  his  king  and  uncle  when  they  meet  in  fight 
Sir  Gawain  is  Lancelot's  foe ;  the  name  is  Gaelic,  for 
"  Smith''  now  spelt  Gobhainn  or  Gobha.  Gow  (or  Goll) 
Macmorn  was  the  rival  of  Fionn  and  his  clan,  and  here 
the  parallel  fails,  for  the  Gaelic  hero  was  killed  by  a 
magic  boar,  by  Fionn's  contrivance,  and  the  British 
hero  survived  Arthur,  and  there  is  no  boar-hunt  in 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  265 

the  romance  ;  but  the  parallel  holds  good  with  another 
story,  which  is  also  part  of  the  history  of  the  Feinne. 
Arthur  loses  his  army,  and  destroys  that  of  his  foe 
in  the  great  battle  of  Barrendown.  When  the  fight 
was  over,  and  no  one  left  but  the  leaders  and  two 
of  Arthur's  knights,  he  rushed  at  Sir  Modred,  pierced 
him  with  a  spear,  and  received  a  mortal  wound 
from  his  expiring  foe.  So  died  Oscar  and  Cairbre. 
Arthur  is  led  to  the  strand,  where  he  is  taken  on  board 
a  ship,  and  carried  to  the  isle  of  Avilion  to  be 
healed.  Fionn  is  not  killed  in  any  tradition  that 
I  have  collected,  but  Irishmen  kill  him  before  the 
battle  of  Gabhra,  where  there  was  a  general  slaughter 
of  all  the  Fenians  but  two.  He  is  supposed,  by  tradi- 
tion, to  live  in  the  "  Green  Island,"  and  the  chief 
products  of  that  Celtic^paradise  are  "  Avian"  apples. 
The  body  of  Arthur  is  brought  by  ladies  to  a  bishop, 
and  buried,  and  Guenever,  Sir  Bedwer,  and  Sir  Lan- 
celot,  all  take  refuge  in  convents,  where  they  die 
devoutly.  According  to  endless  traditions  Arthur  is 
yet  alive;  according  to  popular  tradition,  James  the 
Fourth  survived  Flodden;  and  in  France,  Napoleon 
the  Great  is  supposed  yet  to  liva  Men  voted  for  him 
in  the  west  of  France  in  1849  ;  and  Fionn  like  these 
survives. 

Ossian,  the  last  of  the  Feinne,  is  always  represented 
as  the  last  of  his  race,  living  with  a  churchman  or  his 
father-in-law;  and  in  Irish  versions,  he,  like  Lancelot, 
dies  a  good  Christian.  So  here  are  the  same  traditions 
worked  up  into  wholly  different  stories,  and  differently 
put  upon  the  stage,  according  to  the  manners  of  the 


266  BRITISH  TRADITIONS* 

age  in  which  romances  are  written,  but  the  people 
go  on  telling  their  own  story  in  their  own  way.  The 
author  of  Morte  Arthur  dressed  up  his  story  according 
to  his  ideas,  and  made  a  connected  story;  the  people  of 
the  Highlands  tell  their  story  in  broken  bits,  but  they 
also  sing  the  fragments,  and  the  music  fits  the  Gaelic 
ballad,  and  would  also  fit  the  poem  of  Morte  Arthur. 

Gaelic  Ballad  Metre  and  Assonance. 

Hearken  a  space,  if  ye  wish  a  lay; 

Of  the  day 8  that  from  us  have  GONE; 
Of  Mac Coaitt,  and  of  the  Feinne; 

And  of  Mac  o*  Duine,  a  woeful  SONG. 

Morte  Arthur. 

"  Lancelot  wist  what  was  her  will, 
Well  he  knew,  by  other  mo; 
Her  brother  cleped  he  him  till ; 

And  to  her  chamber  gonne  they  go." 

The  rhythm  is  nearly  that  of  the  old  Irish  air  "  The 
Groves  of  Blarney,"  and  probably  the  whole  series  of 
traditions,  English,  Scotch,  "Welsh,  Breton,  German, 
and  Irish,  have  been  sung  by  wandering  minstrels,  in 
various  shapes  and  to  various  tunes,  time  out  of  mind. 
The  story  is  at  least  as  old  as  the  time  of  Geoffrey  of 
Monmouth,  who  relates  that  after  the  battle  of  Cam- 
blan,  Arthur  was  transported  by  his  bard  and  prophet 
Merlin  to  "  The  Fortunate  Island,  or  Island  of  Apples." 
"  Sir  Guy  of  Warwick"  is  also  like  Gaelic  stories. 
Like  Manus  he  was  attended  by  a  faithful  lion,  and 
the  story  of  Eaymond,  Sir  Guy's  son,  has  much  in 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  267 

common  with  one  of  Marie's  lays  and  the  story  of 
Cuchulin's  son  above  mentioned. 

"  Sir  Bevis  of  Hamptown"  is  also  very  Celtic  in  cha- 
racter. The  hero,  like  "  the  great  fool,"  loses  his  father, 
is  nursed  in  secret,  becomes  a  herd  boy,  and,  as  a  child, 
performs  the  feats  of  a  great  warrior.  When  wounded 
he  is  cured  with  a  wonderful  balsam.  One  of  his 
adventures  is  the  slaughter  of  a  boar  which  devoured 
men,  which  no  spear  would  pierce  nor  sword  bite — like 
the  magic  boar  slain  by  Diarmaid.  His  sword  is  called 
Mor  Glay,  which  is  evidently  Gaelic,  and  two  lines  of 
the  romance  are  in  Shakespere — 

"  Eats  and  mice  and  such  small  deer, 
Was  his  meat  that  seven  year." 

Sir  Bevis,  like  the  man  in  Murdoch  MacBrian,  and  other 
heroes,  comes  disguised  as  a  poor  man,  and  is  recog- 
nised by  his  love.  lions  are  like  ConalTs  lions,  they 
kill  and  devour  a  man  and  his  horse,  but  lay  their 
heads  in  the  lap  of  a  king's  daughter — 

"  For  it  is  the  lion's  kind  y  wis, 
A  king's  daughter  that  maid  is, 
Hurt  nor  harm  none  to  do, 
Therefore  lay  these  lions  so. " 

There  is  also  the  magic  healing  well  which  is  in  so 
many  Gaelic  stories. 

The  romances  which  treat  of  Charlemagne  also  bear 
a  strong  resemblance  to  the  rest.  "  Roland  and  Ferra- 
gus"  introduces  a  Gaelic  name,  though  it  is  that  of  the 
pagan  villain  of  the  piece,  who  is  sent  by  the  Soudan 


268  BRITISH  TRADITIONS. 

from  Babylon  to  fight  Charlemagne.  He  is  a  giant, 
black,  and  a  great  deal  bigger  than  Fergus  the  son  of 
Fionn — 

"  He  had  twenty  men's  strength, 
And  forty  feet  of  length, 
And  four  feet  in  the  face, 
And  fifteen  in  brede." 

"  His  nose  was  a  foot  and  more. 
His  browe  as  bristles  wore." 

Nevertheless,  after  a  severe  fight  with  Eoland  the 
Christian  warrior,  he  is  overcome,  but  first  he  sits  down 
and  argues  against  the  true  faith,  exactly  as  Oisein  does 
with  St.  Patrick  in  Irish  Fenian  tales. 

The  romance  of  "Cceur  de  Lion"  makes  that  chival- 
rous monarch  dine  upon  boiled  Saracens  more  than 
once,  and  is  as  wild  and  impossible  as  any  of  its  prede- 
cessors, though  it  treats  of  real  events  in  the  life  of  a 
real  king. 

And  so,  throughout  these  mediaeval  romances,  and 
the  history  of  the  Feinne,  the  same  stories  and  cha- 
racters can  be  traced.  There  is  always  a  leading  king, 
and  a  knight  who  is  more  valiant  than  his  leader ;  a 
Fionn  and  a  Diarmaid,  a  Charlemagne  and  Eoland,  an 
Arthur  and  Lancelot,  a  Mark  and  Tristrem,  and  a  bard 
who  is  a  chief  actor  in  the  piece,  which  generally  ends 
in  a  great  battle  and  general  slaughter,  such  as  Eonce- 
valles,  Barrendown,  Camblan,  Gabhra,  and,  shall  I  add, 
the  battle  of  Mons  Grampius.* 

*  On  this  battle  William  Livingstone  has  published  a  Gaelic 
prize  poem,  called  "  Cath  Mhonadh  Bhraca."    Glasgow,  1858. 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  269 

There  are,  of  course,  two  ways  of  accounting  for 
this  resemblance.  Those  who  believe  in  creations 
of  the  human  brain  will  look  on  the  traditions  as  frag- 
ments of  a  ruined  romance.  Those  who  think  that 
creations  of  the  brain  are  very  rare,  will  look  on  tradi- 
tions as  the  quarry  whence  materials  have  been  taken 
by  a  succession  of  romancers,  who  said  nothing  about 
their  mine  of  wealth.  The  difference  between  the  two 
may  help  to  turn  the  scale.  There  is  not  a  single 
mediaeval  battle,  or  armed  knight,  such  as  Sir  Lancelot 
and  his  fights,  to  be  found  in  modern  Gaelic  tradition. 
There  is  not  a  trace  of  the  Gaelic  Diarmaid,  as  he  is 
described  by  tradition,  or  of  the  battle  of  Gabhra,  as 
described  by  the  Irish,  to  be  found  in  any  mediaeval 
romance  that  I  know  of.  But  they  have  this  common 
want :  I  know  of  no  single  description  of  a  battle  on 
the  sea  in  any  British  tradition,  romance,  or  popular 
tale,  old  or  new,  though  people  are  always  sailing  about, 
and  fighting  battles  on  the  strand.  But  the  moment  a 
saga  is  taken  up,  a  sea-fight  is  a  prominent  object 
amongst  the  endless  plunderings  and  battles  on  shore. 
The  sagas  are  the  history  of  the  Northmen,  and  bear 
the  stamp  of  matter-of-fact  narratives.  The  romances 
ia  which  the  Northmen  delighted,  when  they  had  taken 
root  in  France  and  England,  were,  as  I  believe,  made 
from  the  Celtic  histories,  traditions,  popular  tales,  and 
pagan  mythology  of  the  newly -converted  half-pagan 
tribes  of  the  now  united  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  and  of  ancient  Gaul. 


27°  BRITISH  TRADITIONS 


Welsh  Stories. 


Now  let  me  try  to  make  peace  with  our  Welsh 
cousins,  for  they  have  dealt  hard  blows  at  British 
literature.  If  they  were  provoked  thereto  by  Map- 
Pherson,  he  did  them  good,  for  the  work  of  Owen 
Jones,  which  is  a  standard  work  still,  was  not  began 
till  long  after  MacPherson  had  set  the  world  upon  the 
study  of  Celtic  literature,  and  Chatterton  to  invent 
African  odes  and  Rowly's  poetry. 

As  an  example  to  be  followed,  let  me  point  to  the 
work  of  Hersart  de  la  ViUeinarquè.* 

The  first  thing  which  must  strike  the  reader,  is  the 
contrast  between  the  language  of  this  distinguished 
foreigner  in  speaking  of  Welsh  antiquities,  and  the 
spirit  of  most  writers  on  the  Ossianic  controversy. 

One  aims  at  discovering  truth,  the  others  at 
proving  their  own  case.  Villemarqu6  is  a  Celt,  but  he 
upholds  Celtic  antiquities ;  he  is  no  Welshman,  but  he 
upholds  Welsh  literature,  instead  of  running  it  down ; 
he  can  refer  to  hundreds  of  ancient  Welsh  manuscripts, 
but  he  does  not  therefore  insist  that  all  Welsh  manu- 
script poems  of  great  age  are  far  more  ancient  than  the 
manuscripts  in  which  they  are  found ;  he  can  quote  French 
versions  of  old  romances,  but  he  does  not  therefore 
claim  them  for  France.  Finding  a  poem  attributed  to 
Taliesen,  written  in  a  vellum  manuscript  of  great  anti- 
quity, he  does  not  therefore  assume  it  to  be  Taliesen's 
composition ;  but  working  steadily  onwards,  he  com- 

*  Poems  des  Bardes  Breton,  Paris  1850. 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  2  7 1 

pares  manuscript  with  manuscript,  till  he  finally  sifts 
out  a  residuum  which  seems  to  bear  the  stamp  of  age 
and  originality,  he  assumes  that  this  may  have  been 
the  work  of  the  ancient  bard ;  he  does  not,  like  Mac- 
Pherson,  assert  it ;  and  he  gives  the  original,  and  quotes 
his  authorities ;  he  alters  the  orthography,  but  he  states 
the  fact ;  and  he  translates  the  result  of  this  process 
into  the  plainest  of  French,  without  aiming  at  anything 
but  an  honest  rendering  of  what  he  believes  to  be 
genuine  old  poetry.  He  collected  the  traditional  songs 
of  the  Bretons,  and  their  prose  tales ;  but  he  does  not 
claim  for  Bretons  all  the  traditions  which  he  found  in 
their  country.  In  short,  he  is  a  man  of  sense,  learning, 
and  liberality ;  and  the  fame  which  he  has  acquired  is 
well  earned.  He  does  not  even  stand  up  for  the  Celtic 
dialect  of  his  native  country,  to  the  injury  of  all  others; 
but  in  his  difficulties  he  has  recourse  to  all  surviving 
Celtic  dialects  alike ;  and  he  seeks,  and  finds  aid  in 
translating  old  Welsh,  in  Irish,  Gaelic,  Cornish,  and 
Breton,  and  thereby  he  arrives  at  a  valuable  result, 
instead  of  maintaining  a  contemptible  squabble ;  and  he 
can  point  to  Owen  Jones  of  Myvyr,  a  Welsh  peasant, 
who  devoted  his  life  to  the  publication  of  Welsh  poems 
from  ancient  manuscripts.  He  was  the  MacPherson  of 
Wales,  in  that  he  drew  attention  to  the  literature  of 
his  country  ;  but  warned,  perhaps,  by  the  errors  of  his 
predecessors  in  the  field  of  Celtic  literature,  his  work 
was  the  very  opposite  of  MacPherson's,  for  it  was  all 
Welsh,  instead  of  all  English,  and  all  founded  upon 
ancient  documents  which  still  exist.  The  work  was 
published  in  1801  and  1807 — that  is,  at  the  same  time 


272  BBITI8H  TRADITIONS. 

as  the  Gaelic  of  Ossian.     For  the  one  there  is  old  autho- 
rity, for  the  other  there  is  none. 

Now,  in  this  work  of  Mons  de  Villemarqu6, 1  find 
traits  which  recal  Gaelic  traditions  and  Ossianic  poems, 
as  published  by  Gillies,  Stewart,  and  MacCallum,  in 
Scotland ;  and  by  Miss  Brooke  and  the  Ossianic  society 
of  Dublin  in  Ireland.  For  example,  there  are  three 
chief  Welsh  bards,  and  all  of  these,  like  Oisein,  join 
in  battles,  and  sing  of  their  own  exploits.  Two  of 
them,  like  Oisein,  live  to  a  great  age,  and  survive 
the  Mends  of  their  youth.  Liwarch  Henn,  Aneurin, 
Taliesen,  and  Oisein,  have  much  in  common  in  their 
story,  if  not  in  their  poems.  Taliesen  ends  his  days 
with  St  Gildas  in  Armorica ;  Aneurin  laments  the 
loss  of  all  his  friends  and  comrades ;  Liwarch  Henn 
holds  parley  with  an  angel  in  the  form  of  a  churchman, 
and  is  urged  to  repentance  in  his  old  age  ;  and  Oisein 
holds  parley  with  St.  Patrick,  and  closes  his  life 
with  him  in  the  practice  of  forced  austerities,  in 
constant  regret  for  the  departed  glories  of  his  race. 
Even  in  Protestant  Scotland  the  old  blind  bard  is 
sometimes  represented  as  singing  his  songs,  and  tell- 
ing his  stories  to  Padraig  or  PauL  If  this  religions 
element  has  been  weeded  from  the  Ossian  of  Mac- 
Pherson,  the  bard  is  still  an  old  man,  singing  of  the 
past ;  he  is  always  miserable  and  worn  out,  blind  and 
deserted,  but  with  the  mind  of  a  warrior  still  fresh 
within  him,  and  the  spirit  of  an  old  pagan  to  argue  with 
Malvina,  if  she  had  been  a  Christian  angeL  So  much 
there  is  in  common,  and  it  would  seem  to  point  to  a 
struggle  between  the  old  religion  and  the  new  faith, 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  273 

Paganism  and  bards  against  Christianity  and  Church-, 
men.  One  poem,  the  song  of  Urien,  is  like  the  lay  of 
the  heads  published  by  MacCallum  in  1816,  and  repeated 
to  me  by  a  man  in  Uist  in  1860.  Cuchullin  had  been 
slain  by  numbers,  and  Conall,  his  "  oide,"  heard  of  it. 
The  messenger  told  that  Cuchullin  had  got  a  new 
house ;  when  he  lay  down,  his  nose  touched  the  roof, 
and  the  back  of  his  head  was  on  the  floor ;  and  when  he 
stretched  himself,  his  feet  were  at  the  lower  end,  and 
his  head  at  the  upper,  and  so  the  messenger  saved  his 
life,  for  Conall  had  sworn  to  slay  any  one  who  brought 
tidings  of  Cuchullin's  death.  Then  Conall  and  another 
swore  that  they  would  not  stop  till  they  had  filled  a 
withy  with  the  heads  of  king's  sons,  as  eric  for  Cuchullin. 
They  did  so,  and  let  the  knot  at  the  end  slip  thrice, 
and  the  song  is  a  dialogue  between  a  lady  and  Conall, 
who  tells  the  history  of  the  heads,  and  the  exploits  of 
their  former  owners.  The  traditional  version  of  the 
song,  as  written  down  for  me,  gives  the  name  of  the 
comrade  "  Laoghaire,"  says  that  they  filled  seven  withies 
with  heads,  and  adds  a  great  many  details  which  are 
not  in  MacCallum.  There  are  sixty-two  lines  instead 
of  sixty,  but  there  is  little  difference  in  the  versions, 
except  in  arrangement  and  substitution  of  words.  The 
song  of  Urien  is  in  like  manner  a  dialogue,  and  one  of 
the  speakers  is  returning  from  battle  with  a  head,  and 
he  describes  the  prowess  of  the  man  who  owned  it. 

But  the  "Welsh  poetry  quoted  differs  entirely  from 
the  Gaelic.     The  stanzas  consist  of  three  lines  instead 
of  four ;  the  whole  system  of  assonance  and  rhyme,  so 
vol.  rv.  T 


274  BRITI8H  TRADITIONS. 


m 


far  as  I  can  make  it  out,  seems  utterly  different ;  there 
is  hardly  anything  in  common,  except  that  both  treat 
of  heroic  actions,  war,  and  slaughter. 

There  is  not  much  resemblance,  then,  between  the 
poems  of  these  two  branches  of  the  Celtic  stock,  and  it 
would  be  strange  if  there  were,  for  the  languages,  though 
Celtic,  differ  widely.  But  fortunately  a  distinguished 
lady  of  high  rank  has  enabled  us  to  judge  of  another 
class  of  popular  lore,  as  it  existed  long  ago  in  Wales — 
the  popular  tales  of  the  fifteenth  century — and  in  these  I 
should  expect  to  find  the  remains  of  something  far 
older  than  Oisein  or  Taliesen ;  the  old  myths  which 
wandered  westward  with  the  Celtic  race,  which  are  em- 
bodied in  Gaelic  tales,  written  and  unwritten,  Scotch 
and  Irish,  and  which  seem  to  be  common  to  most  of 
the  Aryan  languages,  of  which  the  Celtic  is  one  of  the 
oldest.  The  poor  despised  popular  tales,  which  are 
branded  as  wicked  lies  in  the  West  Highlands,  and 
which  such  men  as  Grimm  and  De  la  Villemarquè* 
believe  to  be  some  of  the  oldest  known  products  of  the 
human  mind.  Let  me  shew,  so  far  as  I  can,  wherein 
Scotch  and  Welsh  popular  tales  agree,  and  wherein 
they  differ. 

The  Mabinogion,  by  Lady  Charlotte  Guest,  is  a  col- 
lection of  ancient  Welsh  popular  tales,  taken  from  a 
MS.  supposed  to  have  been  written  about  the  close  of 
the  fifteenth  century.  These  contain  the  frame-work  of 
many  of  the  romances  of  chivalry  which  pervaded  all 
Europe  at  a  far  earlier  date. 

For  instance,  "  The  Chevalier  au  lion,"  is  the  same 
story  in  the  main  as  The  Lady  of  the  Fountain ;  and 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  275 

the  romance  is  attributed  to  "  Crestien  de  Troyes  "  at 
the  close  of  the  twelfth  century. 

These  romances  "are  found  in  England,  France, 
Germany,  and  even  Iceland."  They  are  in  various 
metres,  but  the  same  stories  can  be  traced  in  all ;  the 
heroes  are  still  British  worthies,  and  their  exploits  are 
traced  back  to  Welsh  popular  tales  and  to  Celtic  tra- 
ditions. 

It  is  impossible  to  read  the  text  of  the  Mabinogion, 
and  the  notes,  without  seeing  the  strong  resemblance 
which  these  traditions  bear  to  modern  Gaelic  popular 
tales. 

The  resemblance  is  not  that  of  one  entire  story  to 
another;  were  it  so,  it  would  be  less  striking;  but  it  is 
a  pervading  resemblance  interwoven  throughout,  and 
which  pervades  in  a  less  degree  the  whole  system  of 
popular  tales,  so  far  as  I  am  acquainted  with  it.  The 
Welsh  and  Gaelic  stories  are,  in  fact,  often  founded 
on,  and  consist  of  the  same  incidents  variously  worked 
up,  and  differently  told,  to  fit  the  various  manners  and 
customs  of  different  ages,  different  people,  and  different 
ranks  of  society. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  Lady  of  the  Fountain,  strip 
it  of  all  that  is  local,  and  makes  it  specially  Welsh,  and 
fixes  a  date,  the  names,  the  dresses,  and  decorations, 
the  manners  and  customs,  which  were,  without  doubt, 
those  of  the  people  who  delighted  in  the  Mabinogion 
when  it  was  popular  in  Wales,  and  there  will  remain 
a  bare  skeleton  of  incidents,  many  of  which  will  be 
found  in  these  volumes.  These  I  take  to  be  Celtic, 
to  have  travelled  West  with  Celtic  tribes,  and  to  be 


2*]  6  BRITISH  TRADITION& 

founded  on  still  older  traditions — the  common  stock 
from  which  the  popular  tales  of  Germany,  and  of  that 
whole  family  of  nations  were  also  drawn. 

First,  the  frame-work  is  the  same ;  one  man  tells  a 
story,  which  starts  another,  as  is  the  case  in  Conall, 
Nos.  v.  vi.  and  vn. ;  and  in  Conall  Gulban,  No. 
lxxvi  ;  in  Murdoch  MacBrian,  No.  xxxvin ;  and 
in  many  others  which  I  have  in  manuscript.  The 
knight  comes  to  a  castle,  where  he  finds  maidens  who 
shew  him  the  way,  and  entertain  him,  as  happens  in 
popular  tales  of  all  lands ;  for  there  is  always  some  one 
who  provides  the  adventurer  with  a  bowl,  or  a  due, 
which  shews  him  the  road  to  his  place  of  trial,  or  with 
some  other  means  of  conveyance,  as  in  the  story  of  the 
Calenders ;  but  in  this  case  the  number  is  24,  as  in 
the  Gaelic  story  of  Magnus,  No.  lxxxiv  ;  and  the 
dress  is  yellow,  as  is  the  dress  of  the  mysterious  people 
in  the  Lay  of  the  Great  Fool,  and  generally  in  the  Gaelic 
and  "Welsh  tales,  and  yellow  was  the  colour  of  dresses  of 
honour  in  the  west  long  ago.  The  first  person  he  meets 
is  a  great  black  giant  with  a  club,  who  appears  in  the 
Breton  tale  of  Peronek  the  Idiot,  and  in  the  Eider  of 
Grianaig,  No.  lviil,  and  in  a  great  many  other  Gaelic 
tales.  He  comes  next  to  a  mystic  fountain ;  and  mystic 
fountains  are  the  scene  of  wonders  in  endless  Gaelic 
stories — for  instance,  Nos.  xlvi.  and  LVin.,  where 
the  transformations  occur  at  a  fountain.  Then  there 
is  the  arrival  of  a  man  on  a  black  horse  in  a  shower, 
who  insults  the  warrior;  which  incident  occurs  in 
Nos.  l,  Lii.,  lxxvi.,  and  is  common  to  many  others, 
and  is  especially  distinctive  of  Gaelic  tales.     There  is 


BRITISH  TRADIT10N&  277 

the  healing  vessel  of  balsam  in  the  keeping  of  a  female, 
which  is  continually  turning  up  in  every  possible 
shape  in  Gaelic.  There  is  the  fight  between  a  snake 
and  a  creature  of  another  kind,  which  opens  the  story 
of  the  Battle  of  the  Birds,  No.  n. ;  and  there  is  the 
animal  who  helps  his  deliverer,  as  the  raven  helped  the 
prince ;  and  as  the  lion,  wolf,  and  falcon,  help  the 
fisherman's  son  in  the  Sea  Maiden ;  and  in  Straparola's 
Italian  version  of  that  old  tale,  which  is  at  least  as  old 
as  1567. 

There  is  the  knight  who  wanders  about  with  his 
rescued  lion,  conquering  giants  and  monsters,  like 
Magnus,  in  No.  lxxxiv.  ;  and  like  the  boy  in  the 
Norse  tale  of  the  Blue  Belt;  and  like  heroes  in  plenty 
of  other  tales  besides. 

In  short,  through  these  old  Welsh  tales  of  chivalry, 
there  shines  an  older  system  of  popular  tales,  as  clearly 
as  the  Welsh  tales  shine  through  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish romances ;  and  the  remnants  of  these  very  tradi- 
tions exist  in  fragments  at  this  day  amongst  the  other 
branches  of  the  Celtic  race. 

I  do  not  mean  that  Gaelic-speaking  tribes  have  a 
peculiar  claim  to  them,  rather  than  the  Welsh,  or  that 
Celtic  tribes  invented  them ;  I  mean  that  these  tradi- 
tions are  Celtic,  and  probably  were  Eastern ;  and  that 
the  popular  tales  now  current  amongst  the  poorest  and 
least  instructed  of  the  Gaelic  population,  dwelling  in 
the  far  west,  throw  light  upon  the  subject  so  ably 
treated  in  the  Mabinogion  by  a  distinguished  lady, 
aided  by  Welsh  scholars. 

Compare  the  Breton  traditions  and  popular  ballads, 


278  BRITISH  TRADITIONS. 

founded  on  these  same  traditions  of  Arthur  and  his 
knights,  with  the  next  story  in  the  Mabinogion,  "Pere- 
dur,  the  son  of  Errawc,"  and  with  the  story  of  the  Great 
Fool,  No.  lxxiv.  ;  and  the  general  Celtic  resemblance 
for  which  I  am  contending  will  appear  in  strong 
relief. 

Peredur  is  the  last  of  seven  sons  of  the  "  Earl  of  the 
North,"  and  he  is  brought  up  by  a  wise  mother,  in  a 
distant  country,  so  that  he  should  not  be  a  warrior,  and 
perish  as  his  father  and  brothers  had  done. 

One  day  he  sees  some  hinds,  and  not  knowing  what 
they  are,  he  drives  them  in  with  the  goats.  So  the 
great  fool  sees  deer,  and  not  knowing  what  they  are, 
catches  them  by  speed  of  foot. 

On  another  day,  Peredur  sees  knights  on  horseback, 
and  knows  as  little  what  they  are ;  but  having  found 
out,  he  gets  him  a  horse,  and  goes  to  the  king's  palace, 
and  there  he  begins  by  slaying  a  warrior.  So  the  great 
fool  catches  a  horse,  and  rides  to  the  king's  palace,  and 
slays  a  man  ;  and  so  Peronek,  the  Breton  idiot,  is  a  fool, 
and  becomes  a  hero ;  catches  a  horse,  and  rides  to 
Kerglas  ;  and  there  are  numerous  other  traits  in  Breton 
ballads  which  represent  similar  incidents,  though  in  a 
wholly  different  dress. 

Where  the  parallel  fails  with  one  story,  it  holds 
elsewherA  Peredur  is  recognised,  and  is  saluted  by 
two  captive  dwarfs,  who  had  been  his  father's  dwarfs. 
Conall  Gulban  is  recognised,  and  is  saluted  by  Duanach, 
who  had  been  his  father's  "  draodh." 

Peredur,  when  he  sets  off  in  quest  of  adventures, 
comes  to  old  men,  brothers,  who  instruct  him,  and  for- 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  279 

ward  him  on  his  way,  as  happens  in  the  story  of  Black, 
White,  and  Ked,  in  a  story  told  me  by  tinker  Mac- 
Donald,  in  Norse  Tales,  and  in  endless  popular  tales 
besides.  The  old  men  replace  the  maidens,  and  the 
old  man  who  entertains  the  knight  in  the  Lady  of 
the  Fountain.  And  through  all  the  magnificence  of 
knightly  pageantry,  there  peep  forth  such  traits  of 
popular  manners  as  the  scarcity  of  food. 

When  it  comes  to  battles,  the  principle  on  which 
they  are  conducted  is  to  be  traced  in  Gaelic  tales. 
There  is  the  arrival  of  knights  of  increasing  rank,  and 
their  overthrow  by  the  hero ;  and  further  on,  Peredur 
overthrows  three  hundred  warriors  exactly  as  Conall 
Gulban  and  other  Gaelic  warriors  do ;  but  these  are 
not  the  mailed  knights  of  the  romances. 

There  is  the  incident  of  the  bird  of  prey,  the  blood 
and  the  snow,  which  suggest  love  to  Conall  Gulban, 
and  remind  Peredur  of  the  lady  of  his  love ;  and  that 
one  incident  joins  the  whole  Celtic  family,  for  it  is 
all  over  the  Highlands  now.  See  page  201.  It  was  in 
Wales  in  the  fifteenth  century.  It  is  in  a  manuscript 
in  the  Advocates'  Library,  where  "  Darthula,"  in  the 
story  of  the  children  of  Usnoth,  is  joined  to  it.  This 
is  "  Hiberno-Celtic,"  "  intelligible  to  a  Gaelic  scholar," 
according  to  the  account  which  I  have  of  it ;  and  the 
same  incident  is  a  Breton  tale. 

Kai,  the  counterpart  of  Conan,  "  ever  in  scrapes, 
ever  ready  for  a  fight,"  appears  in  his  usual  character. 

Caerleon  is  the  dwelling  of  King  Arthur.  Turleon 
is  that  of  the  King  of  Lochlann  in  "  the  witch,"  No. 

LXXIII. 


2  80  BRITISH  TRADITIONS. 

There  is  the  lady  in  the  dwelling  of  the  wild  hea- 
then people  who  befriends  the  wanderers — the  character 
who  appears  so  often,  for  example,  in  Nos.  L,  v.,  vl, 
vii.,  xll,  xliv.,  lii.,  lviii.,  lxxx.,  and  still  oftener  in 
Norse  and  German  stories. 

There  are  even  such  little  touches  of  resemblance, 
as  "  Bald  swarthy  youths  "  in  Gaelic  "  Maol  Carrach;" 
and  such  strong  bonds  of  kindred  as  the  three  wounded 
men,  who  are  always  fighting  Addank,  a  monster,  and 
mystic  armies ;  who  always  conquer,  but  never  win ;  who 
are  wounded,  and  healed  with  precious  balsam ;  exactly 
like  the  youths  in  the  Knight  of  the  Red  Shield,  who 
appear  in  many  other  Gaelic  tales  in  other  shapes. 

There  is  even  the  Talisman,  the  stone  of  mystic 
virtues,  which  occurs  in  Conal  Gulban,  and  elsewhere, 
and  which  is  actually  used  at  this  day  as  an  amulet  to 
cure  sick  cattle. 

There  is  the  warrior  who  comes  to  a  trial  of  arms 
disguised,  who  borrows  money  and  clothes  from  a 
craftsman,  wins,  and  will  not  come  for  his  reward  ;  who 
resists  force  by  force,  but  comes  at  last  for  fair  words ; 
like  the  "  Gille  Carrach  dubh "  in  No.  iv.,  vol.  i,  and 
the  Smith's  Apprentice  in  No.  xvi. ;  and  like  Boots 
in  many  Norse  tales,  a  character  who  appears  in  German 
also. 

There  is  the  hideous  woman  with  the  enormous 
teeth,  who  appears  so  often  in  Gaelic  tales.  There  are 
sorceresses  who,  like  the  big  women  of  Jura  in 
No.  xlvi.,  have  to  do  with  feats  of  arms,  and  generally, 
if  this  story  of  Peredur  were  modern,  and  the  subject  of 
adverse  criticism,  it  might  be  said  that  it  was  composed 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  28  I 

of  the  incidents  of  half  a  dozen  popular  tales,  dis- 
jointed, separated,  shaken  together,  reunited,  and 
polished ;  but  as  it  is  older  than  Straparola,  an  illi- 
beral Welsh  critic,  if  such  there  be,  might  claim  all 
collections  of  later  date  as  borrowed  from  "Welsh 
ideas. 

Now,  this  story  of  Peredur  has  been  worked  into 
romances,  and  exists  in  many  of  the  languages  of 
Europe,  including  Icelandic.  The  question  for  argu- 
ment is,  Did  the  old  fishermen  of  the  Hebrides,  the 
old  wives  of  Norway,  the  old  nurses  of  Germany,  the 
people  of  Brittany,  and  the  writers  of  "  Hiberno-Celtic" 
manuscripts,  all  learn  their  incidents,  which  they  have 
in  common  with  "  Peredur,"  from  their  ancestors,  the 
ancestors  from  wandering  minstrels,  the  minstrels  from 
manuscripts,  and  the  authors  of  the  manuscripts  from 
Welsh  bards  1  or,  Have  the  peasantry  of  Europe  pre- 
served the  traditions  from  which  writers  and  reciters 
made  books  and  romances  1  and,  in  particular,  have  the 
Highlanders  of  Scotland  preserved  the  Celtic  traditions, 
which  were  also  written  in  "  the  Welsh  Eed  Book,"  in 
another  guise,  in  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  ?  I 
hold  the  latter  as  the  more  probable,  if  only,  because  I 
have  found  no  trace  of  some  romances  which  are  as 
widely  spread.  The  story  of  Geraint,  the  son  of  Erbin, 
is  in  as  many  languages,  including  Icelandic,  as  the  Lady 
of  the  Fountain,  and  I  have  not  yet  found  a  single 
incident  in  Gaelic  common  to  it,  unless  it  be  the  old 
knight  and  the  dwarf  encouraging  their  Mends  in  the 
combat  with  the  knight  of  the  Sparrow-hawk,  as  Dua- 
nach  encouraged  Conall  in  his  battles ;  and  the  magic 


iSl  BRIT18H  TRADITIONS. 

mist  which  was  dispersed  by  the  hero,  which  occurs  in 
the  lay  of  the  Great  Fool,  which  is  in  a  Manx  tradi- 
tion, and  which  occurs  in  several  Irish  stories — for 
example,  "  The  Chase/'  in  Miss  Brooke's  collection  of 
Irish  poems. 

Take  the  story  of  Kilwich  and  01  wen,  in  the  second 
volume,  as  another  example.  It  opens  like  many 
Gaelic  stories.  A  king  has  a  son,  and  marries  a  second 
time.  He  conceals  his  son  with  a  swineherd,  and  the 
stepmother  finds  him  out  and  brings  him  to  court,  and 
he  is  sent  off  to  encounter  great  perils,  and  seek  objects 
difficult  of  attainment — adventures  suggested  by  the 
stepmother.  So  the  son  goes  off  in  the  "  Knight  of 
Riddles/'  and  one  of  his  adventures  is  to  obtain  the 
hand  of  a  lady,  and  so  a  whole  system  of  popular  tales 
is  founded  on  a  stepmother's  dislike  for  her  step- 
children. The  manner  of  telling  the  story  agrees 
closely  with  the  manner  of  telling  Gaelic  stories ;  many 
of  the  names  could  be  explained  by  Gaelic — for  example, 
Lychlin  is  surely  Lochlann ;  Mil  du,  Maol  dhu  ;  Kilh- 
wich,  son  of  the  king  of  Kellydon,  is  surely  Gil  mhuic, 
the  swine  lad;  and  the  Welsh  word  has  the  same 
meaning,  for  the  king's  son  was  so  called  because  he 
was  hidden  in  a  swine's  barrow. 

The  whole  principle  of  the  story  is  popular,  in  that 
the  hero  rises  to  a  palace  from  a  stye. 

The  first  thing  he  asks  from  King  Arthur,  when  he 
gets  to  court,  is  to  have  his  hair  cut,  and  though  this 
is  said  to  have  been  an  ancient  ceremony,  I  am  inclined 
to  think  it  is  nothing  but  the  common  incident  in  all 
popular  tales,  which  the  following  sketch  from  nature, 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS. 


made  on  the  Tana  river,  on  the  Russian  bank,  in  1850, 
may  save  me  from  explaining  in  words. 


her  Up,  and  she  dressed  his  hair." 

i  quotation  from  the  Norse  tale  of  Soria 
Moria  Castle. 

De  eatte  sig  da  der,  og  da  de  havde  siddet  en  stund 
sagde  den  yngste  Prindsessen :  "  Yeg  faaer  vel  lyske 
dig  lidt  jeg  Halvor,"  ya  Halvor  lugde  hovodet  i  hendes 
havn,  saa  lyskede  hun  ham,  og  (let  varede  ikke  lrcngo 
forend  Halvor  sov  ;  etc  (page  153,  Norske  folke 
eventyr.  1852). 

In  the  list  of  Arthur's  warriors,  too,  there  are  many 
old  familiar  friends,  the  gifted  men  of  Fortunio,  who 
appear  in  many  languages,  and  who  have  counterparts 
in  Gaelic,  see  vol.  L,  p.  250.  In  another  story,  Bolagam 
Mor,  I  have  Luuaoa  Luath,  nimble   shanks,  who 


284  BRITISH  TRADITIONS. 

catches  deer  by  speed  Clarsnrachd  Mhajth,  who 
hears  the  grass  grow.  Toin  Chruaidh,  who  is  found 
clearing  a  field  of  stones  by  sitting  on  them.  Cuimsb 
Direach,  the  marksman  who  is  found  with  a  gun  at  his 
eye  aiming  at  a  bird  in  Eirinn;  and  Bolagam  Mob 
Great  Gulp,  who  is  found  swilling  a  lake,  and  spouting 
it  out  again.  They  all  join  "  the  widow's  son,"  and 
sail  in  a  ship  which  could  go  over  mountain  or  sea, 
Muir  na  Monadh,  which  is  like  Arthur's  ship,  and  they 
go  to  win  a  king's  daughter,  and  do  win  her  by  feats. 
Nimble  shanks  runs  a  race  with  "  nighean  dubh  na 
luideag,"  the  black  girl  of  the  clouts,  to  try  who  could 
first  take  a  bottle  of  water  from  the  green  well  that  was 
about  the  heaps  of  the  deep.  "  Tobar  uaine  thu  'n 
iomal  torra  doinhain,"  the  keen  eared  man,  hears  all  the 
plans,  the  swift  man  is  enticed  into  falling  asleep,  and 
his  head  is  laid  on  a  horse's  skull  by  the  black  girl 
who  runs  off  with  the  water,  but  the  marksman  shoots 
the  head  away,  and  he  awakens  and  wins. 

The  next  feat  is  to  bring  "  Tore  Neanihe,"  a  deadly 
boar  that  is  in  a  forest,  alive  to  the  king's  house. 
Nimble  shanks  goes  to  catch  him,  and  Hard  haunches 
to  ride  him  home,  and  home  they  come  with  him,  and 
here  is  manifestly  the  same  boar  with  the  deadly  spikes 
in  his  back  which  appears  in  the  story  of  Diarmald 
and  elsewhere. 

The  third  feat  is  to  sit  at  meat  with  the  king  in  a 
chair  with  a  deadly  spike  in  it,  and  this  Good  hearing 
finds  out,  and  Hard  haunches  performs. 

And  the  fourth  is  to  bring  a  loch  from  the  hill  top 
to  a  hollow  near  the  king's  house,  which  Great  Gulp 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  285 

accomplishes  by  swallowing  it,  and  spouting  it  out 
again  till  the  people  were  nearly  drowned,  and  then  the 
lady  was  married  and  won,  and  she  is  the  daughter  of 
the  king  of  the  island  of  women.  This  was  written  in 
1859  by  Hector  Urquhart,  from  the  telling  of  old  John 
Mackenzie,  and  I  know  that  I  have  not  got  half  the 
story  yet.  There  is  a  man  who  made  a  bridge  of  his 
foot,  and  another  who  shot  arrows  into  the  moon,  of 
whom  I  have  heard,  and  there  is  the  man  who  produced 
intense  cold  by  moving  his  hat,  who  is  in  Grimm,  and 
who  appears  in  a  story  which  I  got  from  Gairloch. 

Now,  all  these  and  more  are  in  stories  collected  in 
modern  times  elsewhere,  and  they  are  all  in  this  Welsh 
story  at  the  court  of  Arthur. 

There  is  the  man  of  sharp  sight.  "  When  the  gnat 
arose  in  the  morning  with  the  sun,  he  could  see  it  from 
Gelli  wic,  in  Cornwall,  as  far  as  Pen  Blathaon  in  North 
Britain,'7  explained  to  be  from  the  Land's  End  to  the 
ord  of  Caithness. 

There  is  the  "  marksman,"  Gelli  wic,  "  he  could  in 
a  twinkling  shoot  the  wren  through  the  two  legs  upon 
Esgeir  Oervel,  in  Ireland." 

There  is  the  man  of  hard  feet  who  cleared  the  way 
for  King  Arthur,  and  struck  sparks  of  fire  from  hard 
things  with  the  soles  of  his  feet. 

There  is  Gilla  coes  Hydd,  the  chief  leaper  of  Ireland 
was  he. 

There  is  the  nimble  man  who  could  run  over  the 
tops  of  the  trees. 

There  is  Clust  Reinad  ( (?)  cluas  an  ear),  "  though  he 
were  buried  seven  cubits  beneath  the  earth  he  could 


286  BRITISH  TRADITIONa 


hear  the  ant  fifty  miles  off  rise  from  her  nest  in  the 
morning." 

There  is  the  man  who  made  a  bridge  of  his  dagger, 
like  a  lady  who  came  to  visit  Fionn  in  a  story  which 
I  have. 

There  is  the  man  who  could  suck  up  the  sea. 

And  there  are  many  others  of  the  same  stamp,  some 
familiar,  some  who,  so  far  as  I  know,  do  not  appear 
elsewhere  in  popular  tales,  but  every  one  of  whom  is 
intensely  popular,  and  mythological^  and  might  be,  and 
probably  was  the  hero  of  a  separate  myth. 

Kai,  in  particular,  is  here  an  epitome  of  much  which 
is  told  of  several  gifted  men  in  Grimm  and  elsewhere, 
and  therein  he  agrees  with  Conan,  who  in  a  story  about 
the  Feinne  (I  think  Irish)  is  invisible  and  able  to  fly, 
and  blinds  the  Lochlanners  with  a  sting. 

Now,  to  leave  the  region  of  popular  tales  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  turn  to  mythology.  In  Gylfis  mocking  Thor, 
the  Norse  god  goes  to  the  land  of  giants,  where  he  is 
cheated  most  ignominiously ;  but  he  plays  the  part  of 
"  Great  Gulp,"  for  he  swills  at  a  horn  whose  end  is  in 
the  sea,  and  makes  the  sea  sink  down  many  feet  by  his 
mighty  draught,  but  he  cannot  empty  the  horn.  Loki 
plays  the  part  of  the  great  eater  (vol.  i  p.  138),  but  he 
is  beaten,  for  his  adversary  is  fire.  Thor  is  the  strong 
man  who  appears  in  Fortunio,  but  he  is  beaten  again, 
for  he  cannot  lift  up  the  great  serpent,  which  appears 
to  him  as  a  great  gray  cat,  though  it  goes  round  the 
world ;  and  Thor's  companion  plays  the  part  of  the 
swift  man  and  is  beaten,  for  his  adversary  is  thought, 
and  no  one  can  run  a  race  with  thought ;  and,  as  it 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  287 

seems  to  me,  the  same  thing  may  be  meant  by  the 
Gaelic  "  black  daughter  of  the  clouts."  Anything 
which  is  invisible,  and  hidden,  and  incorporeal,  is 
called  "  black."  As, — i€  Each  dubh  's  each  donn  bonn 
ri  bonn  's  luaithe  n  t  each  dubh'  na'n  t  each  donn." 
A  black  horse  and  a  brown  horse  sole  to  sole,  swifter 
is  the  black  horse  (the  wind)  than  the  brown  (water). 
And  lastly,  Thor  is  the  wrestler,  but  he  is  beaten,  for 
his  adversary  is  old  age  ;  and  this  seems  to  indicate 
that  Thor,  though  a  divinity,  had  once  been  a  mortal. 

Here  then  is  King  Arthur  placed  on  the  same  level 
with  Thor,  and  the  same  incidents  associated  with 
both,  the  one  in  a  Welsh  MS.  collection  of  popular  tales, 
the  other  in  a  very  early  Icelandic  manuscript,  which 
gives  nearly  all  that  is  known  of  the  pagan  creed  of 
the  Northmen,  and  the  very  same  characters  and  inci- 
dents are  found  to  pervade  the  popular  tales  of  the 
greater  part  of  Europe,  including  those  of  the  West 
Highlands. 

The  only  possible  deduction  from  these  facts  seems 
to  be,  that  these  are  traces  of  a  mythology  once  common 
to  Celts,  Scandinavians,  Italians,  Germans,  and  may* 
hap  ancient  Greeks,  Eomans,  Egyptians,  and  Aryans, 
And  so  with  the  rest  of  the  story  of  this  Welsh  prince 
of  Kellydon.  When  he  goes  out  with  his  gifted  com- 
rades, they  meet  with  a  mythical  herdsman,  a  captive, 
with  a  dog  as  mythical  as  they  are  themselves,  and  he 
plays  the  part  of  the  herdsman  in  the  Slim-waisted 
Giant,  as  told  me  in  Uist,  and  in  the  Eed  Etin  of 
Ireland,  printed  by  Chambers  in  broad  Scotch  in 
1858.    The  herdsman,  like  the  maidens  in  the  Lady  of 


288  BRITISH  TRADITIONS. 

the  Fountain,  shews  the  way,  and  tells  what  is  to  be 
met  with  in  this  land  of  wonders,  and  he  entertains  the 
adventurers ;  and  when  they  are  set  tasks  by  the  king 
whose  daughter  they  have  come  to  win,  it  is  like  read- 
ing a  list  of  tasks  picked  out  of  a  library  of  popular 
tales,  with  scraps  of  Norse  mythology  and  classical 
mythology  all  jumbled  up  with  other  tasks  which  I 
nave  not  found  elsewhere. 

Here  is  a  list  of  similar  tasks  from  the  tale  men- 
tioned above,  as  preserved  in  the  Advocates'  library, 
which  I  assume  to  be  written  in  Irish.  I  quote  from. 
an  abstract  of  an  abstract. 

Tale  1.  The  fate  of  the  sons  of  Tuireann.  In  the 
reign  of  Nuadh  the  silver-handed,  the  Foghmhairs, 
a  Scandinavian  race  (I  should  say  the  giants),  had 
the  Tuatha  de  Dannans  under  tribute.  The  officers 
come  to  a  king  seated  on  a  hill ;  Lughaidh  Lamhfada 
comes  in  splendid  attire,  rushes  on  the  Foghmairs  and 
kills  them  all  but  nine,  whom  he  sends  back.  They 
tell,  and  an  expedition  is  decided  on.  Cian  meets  Uar, 
Iuchar,  and  Iucharba,  three  sons  of  Tuireann  Beagruin. 
Cian  transforms  himself  into  a  swine.  The  sons  trans- 
form themselves  into  swift  hounds.  Iuar  kills  him, 
and  buries  him  under  a  heap  of  stones.  As  compen- 
sation for  the  crime,  they  are  required  to  procure  for 
Lughraich — 

1.  The  apples  that  grew  in  the  garden  of  the  King 
of  Hisbheirna.  2.  A  sow's  skin  that  belonged  to  the 
King  of  Greece.  3.  A  Persian  spear.  4.  The  horses 
and  chariot  of  Doghair  innsendhe.  5.  The  seven 
swine  of  Easol,  King  of  Colchos.     6.  A  whelp  in  the 


British  traditions;  289 

possession  of  the  King  of  Toruath.  7.  Some  magic 
rods  from  an  island  in  the  Tyrrhene  sea,  and  seven 
other  articles  of  magic  properties,  which  are  not  given 
in  the  abstract.  They  were  also  to  utter  three  cries 
on  the  summit  of  the  hill  of  Miodachan.  After  sixteen 
quarto  pages  of  adventures,  they  return  with  the 
articles,  but  have  not  uttered  the  three  cries,  so  they 
ask  for  a  magic  curach  and  go.  The  eldest  brother,  in 
a  cover  of  glass,  explores  the  sea  for  fifteen  days.  They 
get  a  magic  rod,  utter  the  three  cries  on  the  top  of  the 
hill,  after  a  severe  battle  return  to  Ireland,  die,  and  are 
buried. 

This  manuscript  is  supposed  to  have  been  written 
about  say  1750.  "  It  is  evidently  a  transcript."  The 
language  bespeaks  high  antiquity.  The  man  in  a 
glass  case  occurs  in  a  story  mentioned  to  me  in  Uist 
in  1859,  and  the  tale  of  the  sons  of  Tuireann  is  one 
of  those  mentioned  by  Professor  O'Curry  as  probably 
composed  before  a.d.  1000. 

Now  let  these  Irish  tasks  be  compared  with  the 
Welsh  tasks,  and  they  will  be  found  to  resemble  each 
other  in  nature,  though  they  are  not  the  same ;  and 
they  also  resemble,  in  the  same  general  way,  the  labours 
of  Hercules  and  the  tasks  in  the  battle  of  the  birds, 
in  the  Master  Maid,  in  Straparolas'  Fortunio,  and  in 
many  of  Grimm's  German  stories. 

When  the  Welsh  heroes  set  off  to  accomplish  their 
tasks  it  is  the  same  thing.  They  go  to  the  beasts, 
birds,  and  fishes  for  information,  as  men  go  to  the 
winds  in  the  Norse  tale  of  East  o*  the  Sun  and  West 
o'  the  Moon ;  and  the  three  old  men  who  herd  the 
vol.  rv.  u 


29O  BRITI8H  TRADITIONS. 

beasts,  and  the  birds,  and  the  fishes  in  the  Three  Prin- 
cesses of  Whiteland,  characters  who  appear  continually 
in  Gaelic  talcs  in  various  shapes.  Sometimes  they 
are  old  men,  sometimes  three  old  women,  sometimes 
herds.  These  generally  provide  the  wanderer  with  a 
cup,  or  a  boat,  or  a  pair  of  old  shoes,  which  carry  him 
on  his  journey,  and  come  home.  But  the  Welsh  crea- 
tures are  especially  old  and  mythical ;  one  is  an  eagle, 
which  has  sat  on  a  rock  and  pecked  at  the  stars  for 
some  extraordinary  number  of  ages  ;  another  is  a  stag; 
who  is  as  old  ;  and  the  third  is  a  salmon,  who  takes 
Kai  on  his  back  and  carries  him  to  his  destination. 

And  when  the  grand  climax  is  approaching,  it  ap- 
pears in  the  shape  of  a  magic  boar,  who  is  a  transformed 
king,  and  behind  whose  ears  are  scissors,  a  comb,  and  a 
razor,  which,  like  Gaelic  combs  and  iron  instruments, 
are  the  keys  to  the  whole  magic.  King  Arthur  rouses 
the  boar,  and  hunts  him  from  Ireland  to  Wales,  and 
over  the  Welsh  mountains,  and  he  is  finally  slain  ;  and 
surely  this  magic  boar  and  boar  hunt  by  the  mythical 
British  king  and  his  gifted  warriors,  is  the  same  as 
the  magic  boar  of  Gaelic  tales  ;  and  the  hunt  by  Fionn, 
the  mythical  king  of  the  Feine  ;  and  the  hunt  of 
Adonis,  and  must  be  some  old  myth  as  old  as  the  races 
who  have  worked  up  the  common  stock  into  so  many 
shapes. 

When  I  first  read  this  Welsh  story,  it  was  like  a 
confused  dream,  made  up  of  fragments  from  all  that  I 
had  read  and  collected  during  the  last  two  years,  and 
yet  though  thus  interwoven  with  the  general  mass  of 
Gaelic,  Norse,  German,  French,  and  Italian  tales,   the 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  29 1 

justice  of  the  observation  in  the  first  note  is  unde- 
niable. It  is  "  purely  British/'  in  that  it  has  no 
parallel  or  exact  counterpart  in  any  other  language. 

The  dream  of  Ehonabwy  has  few  incidents  which  I 
can  recognise.  There  is  a  horse  who,  like  the  giant  in 
Conall,  drew  men  towards  him  when  he  drew  in  his 
breath,  and  blew  them  away  when  he  breathed  out. 
It  is  a  strange  tale  of  chivalry,  and  Owen's  army  of 
ravens  are  peculiarly  mythological.  I  have  a  great 
deal  about  ravens,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  battle  of  the 
birds ;  but  I  have  no  army  of  ravens,  and  I  know  of 
no  such  army  in  any  other  popular  tale ;  but  in  a  note 
at  page  436,  is  the  outline  of  a  story  of  which  I  have 
given  an  abstract  at  page  xcv.,  Introduction.  That 
story  was  repeated  to  me  by  an  old  tinker  at  Inverary, 
and  it  is  in  the  metrical  and  prose  versions  of  Perceval 
de  Galles,  according  to  the  note. 

The  story  of  Pwyll,  prince  of  Dyved,  has  a  great 
many  incidents  which  I  recognise.  The  opening  is 
like  the  lay  of  the  Great  Fool.  The  prince  goes  alone 
to  hunt,  and  falls  in  with  hounds  whose  like  he  had 
never  seen,  "  white  with  red  ears."  They  catch  a  stag, 
and  he  drives  them  away,  and  sets  his  own  hounds  on 
the  deer  ;  and  there  comes  a  man  clad  in  garments  of 
gray  woollen,  the  owner  of  the  hounds,  who  accuses  him 
of  discourtesy.     He  is  Arawn,  a  king  of  the  Annwoyn. 

The  next  adventure  is  like  the  opening  of  Murdoch 
MacBrian,  NoJlxxviii.,  and  an  incident  in  ConalL 
The  king  sits  on  a  mound,  and  there  comes  a  maiden 
on  a  steed,  whom  no  one  can  overtake,  which  again  has 
a  relation  to  the  opening  of  Boighre  Borb,  and  the  Irish 


292  BRITISH  TRADITIONS* 

story  of  the  chase.  Then  comes  the  incident  of  a  king 
disguised  as  a  beggar,  which  is  in  the  end  of  Murdoch 
MacBrian,  in  the  Odyssey,  and  in  many  stories  in  Gaelic, 
Norse,  and  German. 

And  then  there  is  the  man  enticed  into  a  bag  and 
beaten ;  as  the  giant's  mother  was  enticed  by  Maol  a 
bhoibean,  and  beaten  to  death. 

Then  comes  the  woman  who  is  mysteriously  robbed 
of  her  children,  and  accused  of  eating  them,  which  is  in 
many  stories ;  for  example,  in  the  French  story  of 
Princess  Fair  Star ;  in  the  Norse  story  of  the  Lassie  and 
her  God-mother ;  in  the  Hoodie,  No.  3,  and  in  No.  12 
in  Gaelic,  and  in  endless  stories  besides.  For  example, 
in  one  called,  "an  t  urisgeal  aig  na  righre,  High  na 
thuirabhinn  agus  righ  nan  Ailp,"  The  king  of  the  Ailp 
quarrelled  with  the  Druids,  and  was  killed,  leaving 
a  single  daughter  and  a  son.  She  was  educated  by  the 
Druids  till  she  was  able  to  do  many  of  their  tricks,  but 
they  coloured  her  skin  as  green  as  grass.  But  the  son 
fled  up  a  mountain,  called  Bean  ghloine,  because  it  was 
always  covered  with  glass  (or  ice)  in  the  winter,  and  he 
took  his  father's  sword  and  sceptre.  Then  came  a  Druid 
and  smote  him  as  he  slept,  and  turned  him  into  a  gray 
dog.  Then  he  returned  to  the  palace,  leaving  his 
sword  and  sceptre,  and  his  sister  got  leave  to  come  and 
see  him,  and  there  they  staid ;  the  green  woman  and  the 
greyhound,  and  there  they  were  to  stay  till  some  one 
would  marry  the  greyhound  of  her  own  accord,  and 
till  the  king's  daughter  should  nurse  three  children, 
and  get  a  kiss  from  a  king's  son.  And  no  one  was  to 
bury  the  bones  of  those  who  fell  in  the  Druid's  battle 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  293 

till  their  grandchildren  should  do  it.  Then  the  king 
of  the  Urbhin  went  off  with  his  men  through  the  hills 
to  fight  with  another  king,  and  lost  his  way  in  a  mist, 
and  he  cried  out  "  keep  with  me ; "  and  there  answered 
him  but  a  hundred.  Then  the  mist  was  so  thick  that 
he  could  not  see  the  end  of  his  sword,  and  he  shouted 
again,  and  there  answered  him  but  a  score ;  and  he 
cried  out  again,  and  there  answered  but  three ;  and 
next  time  he  cried,  none  answered  at  all ;  and  so  he 
wandered  alone  till  he  came  to  the  palace,  where  he 
found  nothing  but  a  greyhound.  He  wandered  about, 
found  food  and  a  bed,  and  ate  and  slept.  Next  day 
he  wandered  about  and  found  a  lot  of  bones,  and 
began  to  kick  the  skulls  idly,  when  the  gray  dog 
sprang  upon  him,  and  threw  him  down,  and  spoke, 
and  abused  him  for  kicking  his  father's  skull,  and 
then  comes  the  story  of  beauty  and  the  beast.  The 
king  had  three  daughters  and  a  son,  and  he  promised 
that  a  daughter  should  come  in  his  stead,  and  the 
green  girl  went  to  carry  the  news.  She  put  on  "a 
chaisbhairt  shiubhal,"  her  travelling  foot-gear,  and  a 
face  cloth,  and  went  and  returned  with  the  three 
daughters  in  a  trice,  for  she  had  travelling  foot-gear 
for  them  also.  The  youngest  staid  as  hostage  for  the 
king,  and  the  rest  went  home,  and  she  slept  in  the 
same  room  with  the  dog  and  the  green  sister  till  the 
year  ran  out,  and  the  king  came  back.  Then,  to  save 
her  father's  life,  the  youngest  sister  agreed  to  marry  the 
hound,  and  the  green  girl  got  a  priest,  and  they  were 
married.  In  the  morning  when  she  woke,  of  course 
it  was  a  fine  young  man  who  was  beside  her ;  and  she 


294  BRITISH  TRADITIONS. 

asked  where  was  the  gray  dog.  Then  the  two  elder 
sisters  were  furious;  and  the  king  fell  in  love  with 
the  green  girl  after  he  had  taken  a  draught  of  the 
"  mheadair  Bhuidh,"  yellow  mead,  from  her  hand.  The 
two  sisters  concoct  a  scheme  with  a  Druid  to  become 
queens  instead  of  the  brother  and  sister ;  and  the  first 
step  is  to  get  hold  of  their  sister's  child,  and  give  it  to 
the  Druids.  They  carry  her  off,  and  when  the  child 
was  born,  "  there  came  a  green  hand  in  at  a  window, 
and  it  took  away  the  child."  So  in  Welsh  there  came 
a  great  claw,  and  so  a  lake  fairy  took  away  Lancelot 
in  the  romance.  And  so  it  happened  thrice,  but  a 
drop  fell  from  the  eyes  of  the  children,  and  the  mother 
gathered  the  drops,  and  treasured  them. 

Then  the  king  who  had  been  twice  deceived,  and 
who  did  not  know  that  he  had  seen  his  wife,  determined 
to  marry  again,  but  he  would  marry  none  but  she  who 
could  fetch  his  sceptre  and  sword  of  victory  from  the 
top  of  the  glass  mountains.  Many  tried,  but  failed ; 
and  the  wicked  sisters  who  had  made  the  youngest 
lose  the  strength  of  her  feet,  cured  her,  and  when  she 
succeeded,  stole  the  prize,  and  claimed  the  reward. 
Then  they  were  set  to  wash  the  bloody  shirts  of  those 
who  had  been  slain  in  the  great  battle  of  the  Druids; 
the  sister  washed  them  all  but  one,  and  before  she 
would  wash  that  one,  she  must  sleep  three  nights  in 
the  king's  room,  but  he  had  his  sleepy  drink,  and  she 
sang — 

Rug  mi  do  thruir  cloinne  dhtdt, 
S'  dhirich  mi  a  bhein  ghloine  dhuit, 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  295 

S'  nigh  mi  do  leindean  fala  dhuit, 
S;  tha  mi  nam  laidhe  maille  ruit, 
I  com'  a  gaoil  nach  teaon  thu  rium. 

I  bore  thy  three  babes  for  thee, 

And  I  climbed  the  glass  peaks  for  thee, 

And  I  washed  thy  bloody  shirts  for  thee, 

And  I  am  laid  beside  thee  here, 

And  why  my  love  not  turn  to  me. 

On  the  third  night  he  heard.  And  in  so  far  the  story 
is  like  many  others,  but  it  has  many  adventures  which 
I  have  found  nowhere  else. 

The  king,  and  his  wife,  and  his  green  sister,  go 
back  to  the  palace  of  the  Ailp,  and  hold  a  feast;  Dubh- 
malurraidh  the  wicked  Druid  comes,  and  a  wicked 
sister  is  transformed  into  the  likeness  of  the  queen,  and 
when  the  true  queen  came  her  rival  was  in  her  place-, 
and  no  one  could  make  out  which  was  the  right  queen. 
Then  came  the  green  sister,  and  produced  a  garter  with 
which  the  queen  had  tied  the  sword  and  sceptre  when 
she  brought  them  from  the  glass  hill,  and  the  true 
queen  had  the  other  on. 

Then  the  green  sister  brought  in  the  three  children, 
which  she  said  she  had  carried  off  from  the  uirabhinn 
to  save  their  lives,  and  they  all  three  squinted  for 
want  of  the  drops  that  had  fallen  from  their  eyes, 
and  the  true  mother  had  the  drops,  and  put  them  back, 
and  they  saw  straight. 

Then  the  green  girl  marked  the  sham  queen  with 
a  black  spot,  and  put  salt  into  the  Druid's  food,  and  a 
sleepy  drink  into  his  cup,  and  when  he  slept  she  put 


tg6  BBITISH  TRADinOBfS. 

him  amongst  the  bones,  where  he  could  work  no  more 
spells.  The  Druid,  to  get  free,  told  her  to  wash  in 
the  water  of  the  well  that  was  at  the  foot  of  the  blue 
rock,  in  the  Island  of  Deer,  in  a  high  hill,  and  the 
young  prince  of  the  uirabhinn  fetched  it  and  she  was 
cured,  and  they  married. 

The  wicked  sisters  try  to  burn  the  house,  and  put 
magic  draughts  into  their  sister's  drink,  but  they  fail. 
The  Druid  is  made  drunk  and  beheaded;  the  sisters 
drink  their  own  draught,  lose  the  power  of  their  legs, 
and  fall  into  poverty  and  disgrace,  and  the  young 
sister  and  the  king  of  the  Ailp  who  had  been  a  gray 
dog,  and  his  sister  who  had  been  green,  and  the  young 
king  of  the  Ura  Bhinn,  lived  happily  thenceforth,  and 
their  grandchildren  buried  the  bones. 

Now  this  was  a  nursery  story  told  to  John  Dewar, 
by  a  servant  maid,  about  1812  ;  and  this  rough  outline 
will  shew  that  it  is  a  version  of  the  same  popular  tale 
which  was  written  in  Wales  about  400  years  before, 
which  was  in  the  Golden  Ass  of  Apuleius  1600  years 
ago,  and  has  to  do  with  Cupid  and  Psyche,  and  is  in 
the  Arabian  Nights.  I  have  other  Gaelic  versions  of 
the  same  incidents,  including  a  detailed  account  of  the 
manner  of  climbing  the  mountains,  and  the  accusation 
of  eating  the  children;  but  my  object  here  is  to  shew 
the  relationship  between  Gaelic  and  Welsh  stories,  and 
this  must  suffice  for  the  present. 

In  the  next  story,  Branwen,  the  daughter  of  Iiyr, 
which,  if  Gaelic,  might  mean  black  and  white  daughter 
of  the  sea,  there  is  little  which  I  can  recognise.  There 
is  a  great  deal  about  ships  which  come  from  Ireland  ; 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  297 

and  the  caldron  which,  brings  warriors  to  life  when 
they  are  slain  is  like  the  vessel  of  balsam.  The  origin  of 
the  "  five-fifths  of  Eirinn"  is  given,  and,  as  I  have  not 
found  the  myth  elsewhere,  and  as  the  term  is  common 
in  Gaelic  stories,  I  quote  it  After  a  great  battle  there 
were  left  alive  but  five  women,  and  they  bore  five  sons, 
and  these,  when  they  grew  up,  took  each  other's  mothers 
to  wife,  and  they  peopled  Ireland  and  divided  it. 

The  name  of  the  smith  is  like  Gaelic.  Llasar 
Uaesgywdd  might  be  kindled  flame. 

I  have  nothing  in  common  with  the  next  story 
except  a  magic  white  boar,  nor  with  the  next,  nor  with 
the  dream  of  Maxen  Wledig,  nor  with  the  story  of 
Lludd.  Some  of  these  I  should  class  with  popular  history. 

But  the  next,  "  Taliesen,"  begins  with  the  well- 
known  incident  of  the  man  who  mysteriously  acquires 
knowledge  by  tasting  unwittingly  drops  of  magic  liquor 
from  a  caldron.  The  man's  name  is  Gwion  Bach ;  and 
the  story  is  now  told  of  Fionn  MacCumhaiL  This 
seems  to  join  Fionn  and  Gwion,  and  to  this  I  have 
referred  elsewhere. 

The  pursuit,  in  various  forms,  by  the  witch  lady, 
has  an  exact  counterpart  in  a  story  of  which  I  have 
many  versions,  and  which  I  had  intended  to  give  if  I 
had  room.  It  is  called  "  The  Fuller's  Son,"  "  The  Col- 
lier's Son,"  and  other  names,  and  it  bears  a  strong 
resemblance  to  the  end  of  the  Norse  tale  "  Farmer 
Weathersky."  That  belongs  to  the  Arabian  Nights 
also,  and  so  carries  us  eastwards  as  usual. 

The  incident  of  sending  a  man  to  try  the  fidelity  of 
a  wife,  and  his  deceit  with  a  ring  token,  has  a  counter- 


29**  BRITISH  TRADITIONS. 

part  in  No.  xvin.  which  leads  to  Shakespeare  and 
Boccacio,  and  proves  what  I  had  suspected,  that  there 
actually  was  a  British  popular  tale  current  before  the 
time  of  Shakespeare,  from  which  he  might  have  taken 
some  of  his  ideas.  The  very  same  idea  will  be  found 
in  a  Breton  tale  (Invention  des  Ballins  Foyer  Breton, 
vol.  i.,  p.  180),  where  a  Breton  gentleman  goes  to  court, 
boasts  of  his  wife's  beauty  and  fidelity,  and  a  French 
courtier  goes  to  test  his  words.  He  gets  a  ring  and 
other  tokens,  and  sends  them  to  Paris,  and  when  the 
enraged  husband  comes  home  to  take  vengeance  on  his 
lady,  he  finds  that  she  is  innocent.  The  gallant  is 
found  weaving  sacking  in  a  room  where  he  had  been 
enticed  by  the  lady,  and  where  she  had  starved  him 
into  submission,  and  taught  him  to  weave,  after  his 
own  fashion,  a  new  kind  of  cloth  of  his  own  invention. 
Here,  then,  one  incident  joins  Gaelic,  Welsh,  and 
Breton,  and  joins  them  to  English,  French,  and  Italian 
tales,  and  brings  them  into  contact  with  famous  names, 
and  carries  them  back  a  long  way. 

But  while  this  is  true  of  incidents,  the  groundwork 
of  the  Welsh  story  and  the  poetry  of  Taliesen  have 
little  in  common  with  any  popular  tale  of  which  I 
know  anything.  Taliesen,  according  to  the  notes,  was  a 
Welsh  bard  of  the  sixth  century,  his  history  is  mixed 
with  Irish  adventures,  he  was  a  knight  of  the  round 
table,  with  Arthur  at  Caerleon,  upon  Usk,  in  Glamorgan  3 
but  if  so,  the  Taliesen  of  the  story  is  a  very  different 
personage ;  he  is  a  kind  of  demigod,  and  in  all  like- 
lihood ancient  myths  about  the  spirit  of  song  have 
clustered  round  a  famous  name. 


BRITISH  TRADITIONS.  299 

The  names  Taliesen,  the  offspring  of  Gwion,  and 
Oisein,  the  son  of  Fionn,  suggest  that  these  mythical 
bards  may  once  have  been  the  same. 

In  a  note,  I  find  that  Cardigan  Bay  was  once  the  site 
of  a  submerged  country ;  the  same,  no  doubt,  which 
can  be  traced  in  Breton,  in  Irish,  in  Manks,  and  Gaelic ; 
in  Norse,  and  in  Italian,  a  country  submerged  for 
wickedness,  and  whose  houses  can  be  seen  under 
water,  and  occasionally  rise  to  the  surface  ;  a  tradition 
common  to  many  nations  which  bears  upon  that  of  the 
mysterious  western  land  hidden  in  the  mist,  which 
once  was  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  is  now  to  the  westward 
of  Man. 

So  far,  then,  I  have  endeavoured  to  shew  that 
Welsh  popular  tales  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  Gaelic 
popular  tales  of  the  nineteenth,  have  a  strong  rela- 
tionship to  each  other,  that  they  are  both  intimately 
connected  with  mediaeval  romances,  and  with  modern 
Norse  tales,  and  with  old  Norse  mythology  ;  with  the 
oldest  known  collections  of  popular  tales  made  in 
Europe,  and  with  the  last ;  with  Irish  traditions  in  the 
Far  West,  and  with  the  Arabian  Nights  in  the  East 
My  opinion  is,  that  these  are  all  founded  upon  incidents 
which  have  been  woven  into  popular  tales  almost  ever 
since  men  began  to  speak ;  that  they  are  Celtic  only 
because  Celts  are  men,  and  only  peculiarly  Celtic  be- 
cause Celts  are  admitted  by  all  to  be  a  very  ancient 
offshoot  from  the  common  root  They  are  peculiarly 
Cymric  or  Gaelic,  because  each  fresh  branch  has  a 
separate  growth,  and  different  tribes  have  varied  their 
stories,  as  they  have  altered  their  language. 


300  MYTHOLOGY. 


IIL— MYTHOLOGY. 

ORIGIN  OF  SUCH  STORIES. 

As  to  the  origin  of  popular  tales,  there  are  three  cur- 
rent opinions. 

First,  it  is  said  the  minds  of  men  are  similarly 
constituted  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  when  they 
are  similarly  placed  will  produce  similar  results,  there- 
fore similar  stories  have  sprung  up  simultaneously  all 
over  the  world,  and  though  they  resemble  each  other, 
they  have  really  nothing  in  common.  They  are  weeds 
of  the  human  understanding  which  should  be  rooted 
out,  but  which  spring  up  wherever  there  is  a  proper 
soil,  and  climate,  and  sufficient  ignorance,  idleness,  and 
neglect. 

Secondly,  it  is  said  "  These  were  the  work  of  wise 
men  in  the  East,  whose  writings  we  know ;  we  know 
when  and  where  these  writings  first  appeared  in  Europe, 
and  these  have  spread  all  over  the  world."  For  ex- 
ample, "  Cupid  and  Psyche,"  and  all  stories  like  it> 
originated  with  the  author  of  the  "  Golden  Ass." 

Thirdly,  it  is  held  that  these  ideas  were  originally 
the  offspring  of  the  minds  of  men  in  the  East,  at  a 
period  when  great  part  of  the  earth  was  waiting  for 
men  to  own  it ;  when  language  itself  was  young,  before s 
the  ancestors  of  those  who  now  dwell  in  India  and  in 
Barra  set  off  on  their  travels,  before  Sanscrit  grew  to 
be  a  language.  In  short,  it  is  held  that  these  despised 
stories  are  the  fragments  of  the  early  myths  and  beliefs, 


MYTHOLOGY.  301 

moral  tales,  and  heroic  pastimes  of  the  early  ages  of  the 
world,  and  that  Cupid  and  Psyche  is  but  one  phase  of 
an  Aryan  myth.   I  have  been  drawn  to  all  these  in  turn. 

When  I  sit  in  a  room  surrounded  by  printed  books, 
and  trace  one  story  through  them  for  centuries  ;  when 
I  read  an  English  translation  of  Apuleius,  printed  in 
1566,  and  my  own  translation  of  a  Gaelic  story,  like 
one  of  those  told  by  "  Lucius,"  that  most  amusing  of 
asses,  I  am  all  for  books ;  but  when  I  sit  in  a  cloud  of 
peat  reek  beside  an  old  Highlander,  with  white  hair 
and  a  skin  like  crumpled  parchment,  who  cannot  speak 
English  or  read  a  word ;  and  listen  to  the  same  inci- 
dents told  in  a  language  which  is  not  in  any  such 
book,  and  in  a  style  which  is  the  narrator's  own,  I  am 
driven  from  my  paper  entrenchments,  and  all  theories 
which  are  founded  on  books  and  writings  are  scattered 
to  the  winds. 

I  am  driven  to  remember  that  libraries  are  but 
museums,  in  which  collections  of  ideas  are  stowed  away 
in  paper,  like  herbariums  of  dried  plants,  and  that  such 
mental  plants  grow  in  men's  minds,  and  are  propagated 
there,  from  seeds,  like  other  plants.  I  feel  that  as 
every  blade  of  springing  corn  is  not  a  separate  creation 
or  a  full  grown  plant,  so  ideas  may  spring  and  grow 
and  come  to  maturity,  and  sow  themselves,  and  spread 
far  and  wide,  as  plants  do,  without  artificial  culture. 
And  so,  after  two  years,  I  hold  the  third  opinion,  having 
tried  the  other  two. 

To  make  the  first  theory  probable,  it  is  necessary  to 
shew  some  case  in  which  two  men  similarly  situated  have 
composed  the  same  speech,  sermon,  or  novel,  with  some 


302  MYTHOLOGY. 

twenty  or  thirty  common  ideas,  following  each  other  in 
the  same  order;  with  the  same  end  in  view,  and  the 
same  plot ;  and  without  any  previous  common  knowledge 
of  any  historical  fact  or  incident  in  every-day  life  from 
which  to  set  out.  We  must  have  two  separate  creations 
of  the  mind. 

We  must  have  two  "  Waverleys,"  or  two  "  Hamlets," 
without  any  historical  foundation,  the  pure  offspring  of 
man's  invention.  It  is  not  only  possible,  but  exceed- 
ingly probable,  that  two  men  should  each  contrive  a 
story,  which  should  begin  with  the  birth  of  its  hero, 
go  on  with  his  adventures  up  to  his  marriage,  and  either 
end  with  his  death,  or  leave  that  conclusion  to  the 
imagination.  Take  almost  any  modern  novel  whose 
author  is  known,  and  strip  it  to  the  bones,  and  the 
skeleton  will  be  found  to  consist  of  ideas  about  the 
birth,  education,  and  marriage  of  one  or  more  couples 
of  human  beings,  and  in  so  far  popular  tales  do  certainly 
resemble  novels,  and  might  spring  up  independently 
without  a  model,  but  that  is  not  the  resemblance  with 
which  we  have  to  deal. 

We  have  not  simply  a  back-bone,  but  a  whole 
skeleton.  We  have  to  deal  with  such  a  resemblance 
as  exists  between  a  Turbot  and  a  John  Dory.  Both  are 
fish,  both  are  flat,  both  are  good;  their  skeletons  are 
made  on  the  same  plan,  and  consist  of  the  same  bones ; 
they  are  creatures  of  the  very  same  kind,  though  the 
one  looks  as  if  he  had  been  crushed  vertically,  and  the 
other  as  if  his  sides  had  been  squeezed  together ;  and 
a  superficial  observer  sees  no  resemblance  at  alL 

In  order  to  maintain  the  second  theory,  it  is  neces- 


MYTHOLOGY.  303 

sary  to  shew  how  it  is  possible  that  uneducated  men  who 
never  stir  from  the  far  west,  the  most  unlikely  to  have 
any  acquaintance  with  anything  inside  a  book,  should 
come  to  know  that  which  is  only  to  be  found  in  rare 
Italian  or  Latin  books,  while  few  of  those  who  most 
cultivate  books  have  the  same  knowledge.  It  must  be 
shewn  how  Donald  MacPhie,  cotter  in  South  Uist,  and 
his  class,  came  to  be  acquainted  with  the  incidents  of 
the  story  of  Fortunio,  in  Straparola,  and  Cupid  and 
Psyche  in  the  "  Golden  Ass,"  and,  when  that  is  shewn, 
how  Grimm's  old  German  women  got  hold  of  the  same  in- 
cidents, and  when  that  is  donB  how  they  got  to  Norway : 
and,  when  all  that  is  done,  it  remains  to  be  discovered 
how  all  the  stories  which  resemble  Fortunio  have  some- 
thing which  none  of  the  rest  have  got,  some  incident 
which  might  be  added  without  interfering  in  any  way 
with  the  symmetry  of  the  general  plan,  and  which  the 
oldest  books  want;  some  detail  which  helps  out  the 
plot 

Is  it  possible  that  a  Minglay  peasant  and  Straparola, 
neither  of  whom  can  have  seen  a  giant,  or  a  flying- 
horse,  or  a  dragon,  or  a  mermaid,  or  a  talking  animal, 
or  a  transformed  man,  could  separately  imagine  all 
these  impossible  things,  and,  having  imagined  them, 
simultaneously  invent  the  incidents  of  the  story,  and 
arrange  so  many  of  them  in  the  same  order  1 

Is  it,  on  the  other  hand,  possible  that  all  these 
barefooted,  bareheaded,  simple  men,  who  cannot  read, 
should  yet  learn  the  contents  of  one  class  of  rare  books 
and  of  no  others  ?     I  cannot  think  so. 

I  have  gone  through  the  whole  sea-maiden  story, 


304  MYTHOLOGY. 

and  all  its  Gaelic  versions,  and  marked  and  numbered 
each,  separate  incident,  and  divided  the  whole  into  its 
parts,  and  then  set  the  result  beside  the  fruit  of  a  simi- 
lar dissection  of  Straparola's  Fortunio,  and  I  find  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  bones  of  the  Italian  story,  and  a  great 
many  bones  which  seem  to  belong  to  some  original 
antediluvian  Aryan  tale.  The  Scotch  version  is  far 
wilder  and  more  mythical  than  the  Italian;  the  one 
savours  of  tournaments,  kings'  palaces,  and  the  manners 
of  Italy  long  ago ;  the  other  of  flocks  and  herds,  fisher- 
men, and  pastoral  life;  but  the  Highland  imaginary 
beings  are  further  from  reality,  and  nearer  to  creatures 
of  the  brain.  The  horses  of  Straparola  are  very  ma- 
terial, and  walk  the  earth ;  those  of  old  John  MacPhie 
are  closely  related  to  Pegasus  and  the  horses  of  the 
Veda,  and  fly  and  soar  through  grimy  peat  reek  to 
the  clouds. 

Fortunio  used  his  magic  power  to  become  a  bird, 
and  fly  to  the  chamber  of  a  princess,  who  provided  him 
with  arms  and  armour;  but  the  son  of  the  fisherman 
won  his  fortune  and  his  princess  by  hard  blows,  and 
by  doing  his  duty  faithfully.  If  it  were  possible  that 
the  rough  Highlander  had  got  knowledge  of  the  work 
of  the  polished  Italian,  it  is  certain  that  he  did  not 
copy  its  morals.  And  what  is  true  of  the  Italian  and 
Gaelic  versions  is  equally  true  of  all  others  which  I 
know.  Shortshanks  in  Norse,  Fortunio  in  French 
(Contes  des  Fees,  vol.  v.,  p.  49),  the  nix  of  the  mill- 
pond,  the  ball  of  crystal  in  German,  and  any  other 
versions,  if  examined,  will  be  found  to  consist  of  a  bare 
tree  of  branching  incidents  common  to  all,  and  so 


MYTHOLOGY ARYAN  THEORY.         305 

elaborate  that  no  minds  could  possibly  have  invented 
the  whole  seven  or  eight  times  over,  without  some 
common  model,  and  yet  no  one  of  these  is  the  model, 
for  the  tree  is  defective  in  all,  and  its  foliage  has  some- 
thing peculiar  to  each  country  in  which  it  grows. 
They  are  specimens  of  the  same  plant,  but  their  com- 
mon stock  is  nowhere  to  be  found. 


Mythology — Aryan  Theory. 

I  lately  had  the  advantage  of  hearing  the  modern 
science  of  language  explained  by  a  master  of  that  art. 
Its  principles,  as  I  gathered  them,  appear  to  be  these. 
Men  are  different  from  brutes  in  that  they  are  gifted 
with  reason,  and  having  reason  they  are  also  gifted  with 
speech.  Parrots  have  organs  of  speech,  and  speak,  but 
they  have  no  language,  because  they  have  no  reasonable 
ideas  to  express.  Such  ideas  as  they  have,  they  express 
in  their  own  way,  by  tones,  not  words.  Men  then 
being  gifted  with  reason  and  the  faculty  of  speech, 
began  to  speak ;  and  expressed  their  ideas  by  sounds, 
which  are  the  roots  of  language.  Languages  pass 
through  stages  of  growth  and  decay,  and  so  far  as  has 
been  ascertained,  there  are  three  stages,  of  which 
examples  exist 

Languages  whose  words  are  all  roots,  which  have 
neither  verbs  nor  adjectives,  nor  terminations,  such  as 
Chinese,  which,  as  it  would  seem,  has  never  grown, 
though  much  cultivated. 

Languages  in  which  one  word  is  glued  to  another 

VOL.  IV.  x 


306         MYTHOLOGY — ABYAN  THEORY. 

and  becomes  a  termination,  and  loses  its  independent 
meaning. 

And  languages  which  have  passed  through  these 
two  stages,  where  the  roots  and  terminations  have  be- 
come so  intimately  joined  and  altered  by  time  and  use 
that  it  requires  a  practised  workman  to  distinguish 
them,  and  hunt  them  back  to  their  sources. 

All  languages,  it  is  assumed,  have  passed,  or  will 
pass,  through  these  three  stages  of  growth  and  decay ; 
and  the  modern  languages  of  the  great  Aryan  family  are 
in  the  third  stage.  Of  the  Aryan  family  of  languages, 
the  Sanscrit,  is  the  oldest  known,  and  this  system  of 
roots  and  growths,  the  principle  on  which  letters 
change,  and  the  framework  of  the  whole  science, 
existed  centuries  ago  amongst  the  sages  of  the  East, 
where  writings  have  been  discovered,  read,  and  adopted, 
by  modern  philosophers. 

A  philologist,  then,  with  sacred  and  profane  history 
pointing  eastwards,  with  Sanscrit  books,  and  eastern 
learning  at  his  command,  with  a  stock  of  roots  gathered 
in  the  East  centuries  ago,  begins  at  some  leaf  or  twig, 
some  word,  in  the  West,  and  works  backwards  to  find 
the  root ;  or  he  starts  at  the  root,  and  works  upwards 
to  the  modern  word,  and  so  by  patient  grubbing,  and 
bold  leaps,  by  force  of  intellect  and  power  of  speech, 
men  strive  to  reach  the  truth  in  this,  as  in  other 
sciences.  They  use  the  faculties  which  have  been  given 
them  to  solve  this  problem,  as  other  men  have  used 
the  same  implements  to  solve  problems  as  hard. 
As  geologists  have  dug  into  the  history  of  the  wtold, 
and  astronomers  have  scaled  the  stars,  so  a  philologist 


MYTHOLOGY — ARYAN  THEORY.         307 

hops  like  a  squirrel  from  bough  to  bough,  and  strives 
to  understand  the  growth  of  the  great  tree  of  human 
language. 

Now,  surely  if  it  be  a  study  worthy  of  philosophers 
to  trace  out  the  sounds  which  are  the  seeds  from  which 
speech  grew ;  it  is  at  least  as  interesting  to  trace  the 
growth  of  untutored  thoughts  which  words  express ; 
and  so  this  study  of  popular  tales  must  come  to  take  its 
place  beside  the  science  of  language,  if  that  is  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  a  high  place  in  the  mystic  circle. 

If  men  began  to  express  ideas  by  language,  they 
must  have  had  ideas  to  express,  and  if  ever  these  early 
ideas,  the  growth  of  unaided  minds,  are  to  be  discovered, 
it  will  be  by  a  process  of  patient  inquiry,  and  bold 
speculation,  like  that  which  has  raised  up  the  sciences 
of  Philology,  Geology,  and  Astronomy. 

When  we  hold  a  tradition,  we  have  something  like 
a  modern  word,  or  a  leaf;  when  we  have  ancient 
writings  we  have  something  like  a  Sanscrit  root,  and  as 
time  goes  on  and  knowledge  increases,  the  connection 
between  the  peasant's  nursery  tale  and  some  old  world 
belief  will  become  clearer  and  clearer.  And  when 
that  has  been  done,  and  when  many  old  pagan  beliefs 
have  been  hunted  out,  the  truth  will  certainly  appear 
beyond  it  all  by  following  this  road  as  well  as  another. 

The  science  of  philology  has  not  yet  proved,  but  it 
points  to  a  single  common  language,  and  an  eastern 
origin  for  the  human  race;  comparative  mythology 
points  the  same  way,  and  this  wonderful  community  of 
popular  tales  throughout  the  world  joins  with  them  in 
pointing  to  a  common  eastern  origin  for  mankind. 


308  MYTHOLOGY. 

And  that  origin  certainly  cannot  be  a  gorilla,  for  in 
all  their  researches  men  find  no  trace  of  primaeval 
gorilla  roots,  languages,  myths,  or  tales. 

Men  are  distinguished  from  gorillas,  for  they  have 
intellects  and  tales ;  birds  still  differ  from  men  in  that 
they  cannot  learn  the  use  of  their  organs  of  speech, 
though  there  was  once  a  magpie  who  told  tales  of  her 
mistress,  and  was  taken  in  by  her  superior  cunning,  and 
unjustly  put  to  death.  On  fine  days  the  whole  neigh- 
bourhood of  a  certain  square  in  London  echoes  to  the 
most  lamentable  sounds  of  human  woe — heart-rending 
shrieks  and  wailings  fill  the  air.  It  is  a  green  parrot 
expressing  his  delight  at  the  bright  sun  and  the  fresh 
air,  by  repeating  what  he  must  have  learned  in  a  very 
cross  nursery. 

Now  if  "  storyology  "  be  a  science,  it  is  worthy  of  a 
system  and  systematic  study,  and  the  process  might  be 
somewhat  like  this: — Begin  anywhere;  and  read  any 
collection,  and  there  will  appear  a  certain  number  of 
incidents  which  are  repeated  over  and  over  again. 
They  are  never  expressed  twice  in  the  same  words, 
but  they  are  clearly  the  same  nevertheless,  and  they  are 
easily  recognised. 

Take,  for  example,  the  idea  of  a  giant  whose  life  is 
not  in  his  body,  but  stowed  away  elsewhere  (No.  rv., 
vol.  L),  and  wherever  that  idea  turns  up  hereafter,  com- 
pare it  with  the  first  mention  of  it ;  and  so  by  degrees 
it  will  appear  that  the  notion  of  a  man  with  his  life 
elsewhere  is  very  commonly  associated  with  certain 
other  ideas  which  have  to  do  with  a  hostile  dragon, 
beasts,  birds,  fish,  and  trees,  earth,  air,  water,  super- 


MYTHOLOGY.  $0$ 

natural  powers,  and  the  loves  of  a  man  and  woman* 
When  this  cluster  of  ideas  is  commonly  found  in  one 
country,  it  becomes  an  incident  belonging  to  the 
people  of  that  country,  and  all  that  specially  belongs 
to  that  people  and  no  other  may  be  removed,  and  then 
with  a  fossil  incident  picked  out  of  the  stratum  in 
which  it  was  first  found,  the  "  storyologist n  may  pro- 
ceed to  pick  out  other  notions  in  the  same  way.  When 
he  has  subjected  any  one  collection  to  this  sifting,  there 
will  certainly  remain  a  number  of  primaeval  fossil  in- 
cidents, and  a  lot  of  historical  debris  which  may  be 
left,  in  the  meantime,  for  historians  to  sift  in  their 
turn.  With  such  a  collection  of  incidents  stored  and 
arranged,  it  is  easy  to  recognise  similar  specimens  else- 
where, and  it  is  startling  to  find  them  in  some  of  their 
resting  places.  No  doubt  hereafter  a  scientific  nomen- 
clature will  be  devised.  The  incident  which  I  have 
taken  as  an  example  might  be  called  the  hieroglyphic 
incident,  for  it  occurs,  as  I  am  told,  in  an  Egyptian 
papyrus,  and  the  Norse  giant  with  no  heart  in  his 
booTand  the  Arabic  djinHho  kept  his  life  at  the 
bottom  of  the  circumambient  ocean  might  be  called 
the  Norse  and  Arabic  varieties.  And  so  when  many 
collections  have  been  made  and  explored,  it  will  be 
found  out  who  has,  and  who  has  not  got  this  and  that 
idea,  and  what  ideas  are  common  to  alL  I  have  little 
doubt  that  this  particular  notion  will  be  discovered  to 
belong  to  some  ancient  system  of  mythology,  like  that 
of  Egypt,  and  to  relate  to  a  deluge  and  a  creation.  It 
would  seem  to  be  very  old,  and  it  is  very  widely  spread. 
The  question  is,  who  were  the  people  who  held  this 


3IO  MYTHOLOGY. 

notion  of  a  common  terminable  life  for  all  nature,  and 
a  man  and  a  woman  who  overcame  the  natural  powers 
by  the  help  of  a  superior  intelligence,  and  when  and 
where  did  they  live,  if  they  lived  before  the  Egyptians. 

I  have  formed  no  theory  on  the  subject,  but  it 
seems  worth  inquiry,  and  this  is  one  way  to  puzzle  out 
some  parts  of  the  ancient  history  of  the  human  race, 
from  the  traces  of  the  human  mind.  Let  a  sufficient 
number  of  incidents  be  gathered  together,  and  treated 
as  roots,  wherever  they  may  be  found;  exactly  as  ar 
and  tra  are  hunted  through  forests  of  Aryan  words, 
and  storyology  will  become  a  science  like  any  other 
ology,  and  it  is  fully  as  amusing  as  most  of  that  dusty 
tribe.  It  is  more  amusing  to  read  faces  than  it  is  to 
read  books ;  it  is  quite  as  satisfactory  to  catch  a  new 
idea  as  it  is  to  land  a  fresh  salmon,  bag  a  pheasant, 
run  a  fox  to  ground,  or  draw  a  badger,  and  the  pursuit 
may  best  be  carried  on  in  the  open  air,  amongst  the 
wildest  of  glens,  and  mountains,  and  mountaineers. 

And  what  were  these  first  efforts  of  reason  left  to 
itself  Ì     Surely  to  find  out  the  reason  of  things. 

In  early  youth,  I  was  taught  a  definition  which  I 
have  never  been  able  to  forget. 

a  "  What  is  a  river  V 

A.  "  A  river  is  a  stream  of  water  running  through 
the  lowest  accessible  levels  of  a  country  into  the  sea, 
and  returning  to  it  the  water  which  having  evaporated 
had  formed  clouds  and  fallen  over  the  land  in  rain." 

A  simple  man  in  search  of  knowledge,  who  had 
found  all  that  out  for  himself,  might  well  think  he  had 
got  the  two  ends  of  his  chain  of  reasoning  fast  linked 


MYTHOLOGY.  3  1 1 

together,  and  describe  a  circle  in  the  sand,  to  express 
the  discovery  completed. 

The  river  runs  because  the  rain  falls ;  the  rain  falls 
because  the  river  runs,  so  the  chain  is  endless  and  un- 
broken, and  the  river  something  everlasting.  Men 
having  a  tendency  to  admire  the  fruit  of  their  own 
brains  might  well  sit  down  content,  and  mayhap  fall 
down  and  worship  the  river  itself  or  set  up  a  circle,  or 
a  symbolical  serpent  with  his  tail  in  his  mouth,  to  ex- 
press eternity,  and  exclaim — "  how  bountiful  is  this 
great  everlasting  river,  which  is  older  than  my  grand- 
father, which  flows  down  from  his  lofty  clouds  in  the 
air  to  water  my  fields,  and  returns  to  his  native  skies/' 
And  so  the  river  might  become  a  god,  and  acquire  a 
name,  and  a  history,  and  temples,  and  priests,  and  a 
religious  system,  and  a  form,  mayhap  that  of  a  fish's 
tail  tacked  on  to  a  human  body. 

But  some  other  thinker  might  feel  cramped  within 
this  water  circle  flowing  about  the  earth,  and  seek  to 
know  why  the  river  was  material,  and  ran  down  north- 
wards, and  flew  up  and  southwards,  and  suspect  that  the 
water  god  had  more  to  do  than  water  fields.  If  he  thought 
hard,  he  might  find  out  that  water  rose  up  when  it  was 
heated  by  fire,  that  the  sun  was  hot,  and  that  the  river 
flew  through  the  air  because  the  sun  shone  ;  that  the 
fields  gave  their  increase,  not  because  of  the  water  god, 
whose  own  watery  regions  produced  nothing  but  weeds 
and  fish,  but  because  the  sun  compelled  the  water  to 
work,  and  then  warmed  the  fields  into  fertility.  And 
so  a  new  astronomical  circle,  and  a  larger  symbolical 
serpent,  with  his  tail  in  his  mouth,  new  priests,  images, 


312  MYTHOLOGY. 

and  ceremonies,  might  be  set  up  in  honour  of  the 
"bountiful  Sun  God,  who  rose  and  set  to  watch  over  the 
fields  of  his  faithful  worshippers.  And  then  the  de- 
throned river  god,  with  his  scaly  tail,  would  sink  in 
public  estimation,  and  might  become  "  Abdallah  of  the 
sea,"  and  his  wife  a  mermaid,  and  then  all  the  history 
of  the  past  religion  would  gradually  sink  into  a  nursery 
tale. 

Another  thinker  might  upset  the  worship  of  fire, 
and  point  out  that  the  air  in  which  the  sun,  and  moon, 
and  stars  had  their  lofty  being  was  something  greater 
than  fire,  for  no  animal,  or  man,  or  fire  could  live  with- 
out it,  and  a  good  blast  of  it  would  extinguish  the  best 
candle. 

A  fourth  might  discover,  that  without  the  earth  all 
else  was  nought,  and  that  everything  grew  and  had  its 
being  from  the  earth,  and  returns  to  it.  And  so  a 
whole  host  of  elemental  divinities  might  spring  up  from 
a  study  of  nature,  flourish  and  decay,  and  so  become 
the  spirits  of  the  earth,  and  the  air;  the  djinns  of  fire, 
and  air,  and  water ;  Peris  and  earthly  ghouls  dressed  in 
their  old  idol  forms,  and  retaining  shreds  of  their  former 
grandeur. 

But  as  each  new  circle  became  too  narrow  for  reason, 
one  set  of  despairing  philosophers  might  come  to  think 
the  whole  world  of  nature  a  fortuitous  concurrence  of 
atoms,  and  worship  nothing  at  all ;  while  a  second 
worshipped  their  own  passions  ;  and  a  third  still  pressed 
onwards,  and  sought  to  know  whence  the  atoms  came, 
and  why  they  concurred,  and  how  the  particular  con- 
currence of  atoms,  of  which  they  were  composed, 


MYTHOLOGY.  313 

managed  to  think  about  such  things,  or  to  think  at  all. 
Such  thinkers  must  be  driven  at  last  to  say,  "We 
cannot  explain  this;  but  we  believe  that  there  is  a 
reason  greater  than  ours,  which  we  cannot  attain  to, 
beyond  it  all." 

So  nursery  tales  are  often  the  debris  of  natural 
religions,  which  are  all  fading  away  before  the  light  of 
revealed  religion,  but  subsisted  along  with  it  before  the 
flood.  Plain  men  and  women  are  found  dealing  with 
heroes  and  heroines,  mermaids,  dragons,  great  birds, 
and  subterranean  powers;  the  powers  of  water,  fire, 
air,  and  earth,  who  were  once  gods  and  goddesses ;  the 
elements  personified,  worshipped,  dethroned,  and  now 
degraded  to  be  demons  and  hobgoblins,  fiends  and 
fairies,  ghosts  and  bogles,  and  monsters  of  land  and 
sea.  But  above  and  beyond  all  these  there  is  always 
some  dimly  seen  power  greater  and  more  powerful  than 
they;  the  hidden  reason  and  cause  towards  which 
every  train  of  just  reasoning  must  certainly  tend,  though 
it  never  can  reach  it  without  its  aid. 

Jupiter  was  subject  to  the  Fates ;  the  world  and  its 
supporters  stood  upon  a  tortoise,  or  rested  upon  the 
shoulders  of  Atlas,  but  what  they  stood  upon  no  one 
knew.  Fairies  are  more  powerful  than  mortal  men, 
but  they  are  but  "fallen  angels,"  and  the  wise  man 
who  advised  the  fisherman's  son  in  the  "  Sea-maiden" 
was  a  greater  power  than  he,  or  any  of  the  monsters 
which  he  destroyed,  or  the  magic  creatures  of  air,  earth, 
and  water  which  aided  him  and  his  wife  to  overcome 
the  evil  powers  of  the  sea. 


314  MYTHOLOGY. 


West  Highland  Stories. 

Assuming  that  stories  do  really  contain  the  debris 
of  ancient  beliefs,  this  particular  collection  should  con* 
tain  fragments  of  the  ancient  Celtic  creed.  They  seem 
to  me  to  point  to  an  astronomical  pantheon  at  war  with 
meteorological,  aqueous,  and  terrestrial  powers. 

The  early  religion  of  the  Vedas  seems  to  have  been 
mixed  up  with  solar  worship ;  so  was  that  of  Egypt, 
Greece,  and  Home.  In  the  second  century,  in  the  days 
of  Apuleius,  who  was  a  native  of  Northern  Africa,  and 
manifestly  a  collector  of  North  African  popular  tales, 
it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  propitiate  the  good  powers, 
to  "put  the  best  foot  foremost,"  as  we  say;  to  start 
with  the  right  foot,  not  the  left,  as  Apuleius  explains, 
and  in  these  days  men  still  swore  by  the  divinity  of 
the  sun. 

Irishmen  will  have  it  that  they  are  of  Milesian 
descent,  and  came  from  the  Mediterranean.  Scotchmen 
will  have  it  that  they,  too,  have  a  like  origin — from 
Pharoah's  daughter — and  Apuleius  calls  his  "  Milesian" 
tales,  whatever  he  means  thereby. 

It  seems  pretty  certain,  at  all  events,  that  Phoenician 
traders  visited  Britain  at  a  very  early  date,  whether  the 
Celtic  Britons  first  came  overland  or  by  sea.  To  secure 
a  prosperous  result  in  the  days  of  Martin,  in  the  Western 
Isles  in  1703,  it  was  requisite  to  take  a  turn  sunwise 
at  starting.  A  boat  was  rowed  round  sunwise ;  an  old 
Islay  woman  marched  sunwise  about  the  worthy  doctor, 
to  bring  him  good  luck ;  the  fowlers,  when  they  went 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  3  1 5 

to  the  Flannen  Islands,  walked  sunwise  thrice  about 
the  chapel,  saying  prayers.  Sometimes  fire  was  carried 
round  some  object,  sometimes  they  rode  in  procession. 
They  made  forced  fire  for  mystical  purposes  by  rubbing 
planks  together.  In  short,  there  were  then  a  number 
of  superstitious  observances  connected  with  fire,  and 
with  moving  in  a  circle  from  left  to  right  if  the  back  is 
to  the  centre,  from  right  to  left  if  the  centre  is  faced ; 
sunwise,  east,  south,  west,  north,  and  so  thrice.  Every 
English  sailor  coils  a  rope  sunwise ;  but  I  have  never 
been  able  to  find  out  that  he  alters  the  direction  of  his 
coil  when  he  crosses  the  line,  and  ought  to  coil  it  the 
other  way.  When  a  soldier  faces  about,  he  goes  right 
about  face ;  when  boys  play  at  rounders,  so  far  as  I  can 
remember,  they  always  run  first  to  the  stance  on  the 
left  of  the  circle  within  which  they  stand.  Girls  dance 
in  a  circle,  and  all  England  commonly  dances  in  a  circle 
about  the  mistletoe  when  we  dance  the  old  year  out 
and  the  new  year  in ;  and,  so  far  as  I  can  remember, 
the  dancers  face  the  centre,  and  move  to  the  left,  which 
is  sunwise,  and  planetwise,  if  the  earth  be  the  centre 
intended.  Long  ago,  when  in  Greece,  I  came  upon  a 
lot  of  peasants  dressed  in  their  white  kilts,  performing 
their  dances.  Men  and  women  held  hands  in  a  circle, 
advanced  and  retreated,  and  moved  slowly  round  to  a 
very  monotonous  music,  while  every  now  and  then  one 
of  them  broke  out  into  a  fit  of  violent  twirlings  and 
eccentric  whirlings  in  the  midst,  which,  if  originally 
astronomical,  must  have  symbolized  a  comet. 

This  summer  I  saw  the  national  dance  of  the  Faroe 
islanders.     A  great  number  of  men  and  women,  boys 


3 16  MYTHOLOGY. 

and  girls,  joined  hands  and  walked  round  a  room,  sing* 
ing  old  heroic  ballads  in  their  old  Norse  tongue.  They 
walked  sunwise.  When  we  waltz  we  go  sunwise  round 
the  ball-room,  when  we  go  round  in  a  reel  we  do  the 
same,  and  start  with  the  right  foot  The  wine  bottle 
and  the  whisky  noggin  both  circulate  sunwise  about 
the  table.  Lawyers  in  their  revels  used  to  hold  hands 
and  dance  thrice  round  the  seacoal  fire  in  the  Inner 
Temple  Hall,  according  to  ancient  usage.  Boys  hold 
hands  and  dance  round  bonfires.  Men  and  maidens 
still  dance  round  the  Maypole  in  some  benighted 
parishes  in  England.  In  short,  this  system  of  dancing, 
and  doing  things  in  circles,  sunwise,  is  almost  universal 
in  the  north. 

Mons.  de  la  Yillemarque  tells  of  a  game  which  he 
saw  played  by  children  in  Brittany.  A  small  boy  was 
seated  on  an  isolated  stone,  and  a  circle  of  small  Breton 
peasants  revolved  about  him  thrice,  prostrating  them- 
selves thrice  with  their  faces  to  the  earth,  and  singing — 

Roue  Arzur  me  ho  salud, 
Me  ho  salud  Roue  a  Vrud ; 

0  !  Roi  Arthur,  je  vous  salue 
Je  vous  salue,  Roi  de  renom. 

The  hill  known  as  the  "  Cobler,"  in  Argyllshire,  is 
called  "  Aite  suidhe  Artair."  The  seat  of  Arthur,  the 
hill  above  Edinburgh,  is  called  Arthur's  Seat,  and 
Art  is  one  Gaelic  word  for  a  god.  Art  adhair  would 
mean  god  of  the  air,  which  would  be  a  fit  name  for 
the  sun. 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  3  1 7 

There  is  a  childish  game  played  in  the  Highlands 
called  "uinneagan  arda,"  high  windows,  in  which  a 
circle  of  children  dance  round  one  who  tries  to  escape. 

Another  amusement  is  to  whirl  a  lighted  stick  so  as 
to  produce  a  circle  of  fire,  but  that  is  forbidden  by  old 
dames,  who  say,  "  Tha  e  air  a  chrosadh,"  "It  is  crossed," 
or  forbidden.  There  are  plenty  of  crosses  on  stones 
which  seem  to  have  pagan  symbols  on  them. 

There  are  several  "  knocking-out  games,"  which  are 
played  in  circles,  or  a  half  circle,  round  the  peat  fire  in 
the  middle  of  the  floor. 

A  string  of  words  is  repeated  by  a  performer  with  a 
stick  in  his  hand,  who  strikes  a  foot  of  one  of  the 
players  as  he  says  each  word,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
performance  he  says,  "  Cuir  stochd  a  staigh,"  and  the 
last  player  sticks  his  right  foot  into  the  circle.  The 
game  goes  on  sunwise  till  all  the  right  feet  are  in,  and 
then  all  the  left,  and  the  last  has  either  to  take  three 
mouthfuls  of  ashes,  or  go  out  and  repeat  certain  quaint 
disagreeable  phrases,  one  of  which  is  — 

"  My  own  mother  burned  her  nails  scraping  the 
sowen's  pot." 

"  Loisg  mo  mhathair  fhein  a  h-inen  a  sgriobadh  na 
poite  chabhrach." 

Another  is,  to  light  a  stick  and  pass  it  quickly  round 
while  it  is  red.     The  player  who  has  the  stick  says — 

"  Gill'  ite-a  gochd."    The  next  to  the  left  replies  — 
"  Cha  'n  f  hior  dhuit  e ;"  and  the  fire  holder  repeats 
as  fast  as  ever  he  can — 


3  1 8  MYTHOLOGY. 

"  Cha  'n  'eil  clach  na  crann 
'San  tigh,  mhor  'ud  thall, 
Nach  tuit  mu  d1  cheann, 
Ma  leigeas  tu  as  Gill  ite-a-gochd," 

and  when  that  is  said  he  passes  the  stick  to  his  left- 
hand  neighbour  as  fast  as  he  can.  When  the  fire  goes 
out  the  holder  of  the  stick  pays  some  forfeit  I  have 
played  this  game  myself  as  a  child.  The  words 
mean — 

"  Servant  of  ite-a-gochd." 
Untrue  for  thee. 

"  There's  neither  stock  nor  stone 
In  yonder  great  house, 
But  will  fall  on  thy  head, 
If  thou  lettest  out  the  servant  of  ite-a-gochd." 

What  the  last  word  may  mean  I  cannot  say. 

Now,  if  a  man  anywhere  north  of  the  equator  will 
face  the  sun  all  day,  and  the  place  where  he  is  all 
night,  he  will  revolve  right-about-face  in  twenty -four 
hours,  and  meet  the  rising  sun  in  the  morning  with  his 
right  hand  to  the  south,  his  back  to  the  west,  his  left 
hand  to  the  north,  and  his  face  towards  his  object  of 
worship,  if  he  worships  the  sun.  If  he  walks  round 
the  gnomon  of  a  dial  on  the  sunny  side,  seeking  light 
and  avoiding  shade,  he  will  describe  a  portion  of  a 
circle  from  left  to  right,  and  if  he  crosses  the  arctic 
circle  he  may  so  perform  a  whole  circle  in  a  summer's 
day;  but  if  an  Asian  or  European  walks  continually 
owards  the  sun  at  an  even  pace,  whenever  he  can  see 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  3  19 

him,  he  will  necessarily  walk  westwards  and  south- 
wards, in  the  direction  in  which  Western  Aryans  are 
supposed  to  have  migrated. 

The  Gaelic  language  points  the  same  way.  Deas 
means  south,  and  right,  and  ready,  dexterous,  well- 
proportioned,  ready-witted,  eloquent.  Consequently 
to  go  south,  and  to  go  to  the  right;  to  coil  a  rope 
dexterously,  or  southwards;  to  be  dexterous,  southern, 
and  to  be  prepared  to  set  out;  are  all  expressed  by  the 
same  Gaelic  words — "  Deas,"  "  Gu  deiseal,"  etc.  Now 
all  this  surely  points  to  a  journey  from  east  to  west  with 
the  sun  for  a  leader ;  to  a  camp  awakening  at  sunrise 
and  facing  the  great  leader  in  the  morning,  watching 
his  progress  till  noon,  and  setting  off  westwards  when 
" Dia,"  god  of  day,  was  south'; — Deas*  ready  to  lead 
them  westwards  on  their  pilgrimage.  Surely  all  these 
northern  games,  dances,  and  ceremonies,  and  thought- 
less acts,  point  to  astronomical  worship,  and  an  imita- 
tion of  the  march  of  the  stars  round  the  world,  or 
round  the  sun,  if  men  had  got  so  far  in  their  astro- 
nomy. 

A  short  ballad,  taken  down  from  the  recitation  of 
an  old  tailor  in  South  Uist,  who  is  utterly  illiterate, 
and  has  hardly  ever  worn  a  shoe  or  a  bonnet,  begins 
thus : — 

Gun  d  dhubhradh  an  Ràth  soluis ; 

Fuamhair  mor  anns  an  iadh-dhorus ; 

Fuamhair  mor  a'  tighinn  o'n  traigh, 

B*  fhear  an  t'-eug  na  'dhol  'na  dhàiL 

*  Pronounced  Djee^à.  Ejdys. 


320  MYTHOLOGY. 

Seachainn  mi  gu  direach  deas 
S1  nach  ann  air  do  thi  a  thainaig. 

Tlie  light  circle  was  shadowed; 
A  great  giant  in  the  wheeling  door; 
A  great  giant  coming  from  the  strand, 
Better  were  death  than  to  go  to  meet  him. 

Pass  me  bye  straight  and  south  (right  readily). 
For  it  was  not  on  thy  track  I  came. 

So  here  is  poetry,  which  is  not  to  be  found  in 
any  book  that  I  know,  and  which  is  highly  mytho- 
logical. Caoilte,  one  of  the  Fenians,  sees  the  circle 
of  light  (pronounced  ra,  spelt  rath  ;  English,  ray  ; 
Egyptian,  according  to  Sir  Gardener  Wilkinson,  ra  or 
re,  the  sun  god)  shadowed  by  a  great  giant  with  five 
heads,  who  was  in  the  wheeling  door,  that  is,  I  pre- 
sume, the  sun,  the  door  in  the  Zodiac,  whence  light 
emerged ;  and  the  giant  desires  him  to  pass  him 
straight,  south,  and  avoid  him ;  but  Caoilte  will  do 
nothing  of  the  sort ;  they  fight,  and  he  slays  the  giant 
with  a  "  brodann,"  a  short  spear,  according  to  the  re- 
citer ;  but  Caoilte  was  sore  wounded  in  the  fight ; 
and  Graidhne,  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  Connachd- 
aidh  (Connaught)  carries  his  shield  to  "  Dun  TiL" 

Cha  lotadh  i  'm  feur  fo  'cois, 
S'  cha  mhò  a  lubadh  i  meangan. 

She  would  not  hurt  the  grass  under  foot, 
No  more  would  she  bend  a  sprig. 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES. 


321 


The  following  is  an  air  to  which  a  song  about 
Caoilte  used  to  be  sung.  I  have  not  got  the  old 
tailor's  air,  but  it  was  very  pretty  and  wild.  I  have 
but  three  lines  of  the  other  version. 

Dan  Chaoiltb,  from  Mrs.  MacTavish. 


A  Chaoilte  laoich  a  teannragan 
Annir  og  an  or-ftroilt  reidh 
Ciridh  e  cinn  le  cir  airgiod. 

Caoilte  hero  from  battle. 

Young  maiden  of  smooth  golden  hair 

Combing  her  head  with  a  silver  comb. 


Villemarque  holds  that  Arthur  and  his  knights  are 
but  Celtic  gods  in  disguise.  Surely  the  Fenians  are 
but  another  phase  of  the  same  astronomical  worship  of 
the  host  of  heaven. 

Again  it  appears  in  many  ways  that  the  dead  were 
supposed  to  live  ;  but  far  away  to  the  westward,  where 
the  Sun  God  seemed  to  go  to  his  rest.  Ossian  Fionn, 
and  heroes  innumerable,  were  gone  before  towards  the 

VOL.  IV.  T 


32  2  MYTHOLOGY. 

setting  sun,  and  dwelt  in  a  green  island,  where  all 
the  mysterious  objects  in  Gaelic  popular  tales  abound. 
The  mystic  fountain,  which  in  the  story  of  Cupid  and 
Psyche  is  the  river  Styx,  and  flowed  from  a  lofty 
mountain ;  the  mystic  apples  which  changed  men 
into  animals,  and  cured  them ;  (in  the  Golden  Ass  a 
rose  did  the  same);  the  mighty  smiths  who  forged 
"  Dure  Entaille,"  for  Arthur.  "  Avalon,"  the  earthly 
paradise,  and  "  Eilean  iomallach  an  domhain,"  "  Island 
uttermost  of  the  lower  earth,"  were  surely  the  same 
mysterious  country  over  which  the  Sun  God  was  sup- 
posed to  preside.* 

All  these  strange  matter  of  fact  stories  which  per- 
vade the  whole  of  the  western  islands,  from  north 
Eonaldshay  to  the  South  of  Ireland,  about  seals  which 
turned  out  to  be  men  and  women,  who  came  from 
their  home  in  the  west  to  visit  the  world ;  all  these 
strange  semi-heathen  practices  of  taking  the  sick  to 
the  shore ;  all  these  accounts  of  strange  islands  occa- 
sionally seen  in  the  far  west,  are  surely  traces  of  the 
ancient  Celtic  notions  of  a  future  state  ;  and  the 
chapels  perched  upon  the  most  distant  western  rocks 
on  the  coast  of  Europe,  were  surely  set  up  to  coun- 
teract and  take  advantage  of  this  ancient  heathen 
Celtic  tendency  to  western  worship,  and  the  belief  in 
an  earthly  paradise.  Surely  the  same  idea  is  expressed 
in  the  African  fable  of  the  hyaena  and  the  weasel. 

The  one,  who  was  a  priest  in  other  stories,  pointed 
to  the  setting  sun,  and  said,  "there  is  fire,  go  and 
fetch  it."    The  other  went  as  fast  as  he  could  towards 

*  See  Note,  page  344. 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  323 

the  sun,  till  it  set,  and  then  it  came  hack,  for  the 
hyaena  was  a  fool,  and  he  lost  his  food  and  his  tail; 
hut  the  weasel  was  the  wisest  of  all  creatures,  he  was 
the  philosopher,  and  got  the  prize. 

But  "beyond  the  Green  Island  beneath  the  western 
waves,  there  was  still  something  unknown  and  unex- 
plored. When  Diarmid  had  found  his  princess  under 
the  waves,  he  had  to  cross  a  great  strait  to  get  the  cup 
of  the  king  who  ruled  over  the  dead.  And  there  was 
more  "beyond. 

"They  believe,"  says  Giraldus  Cambrensis,*  "that 
"  the  spirits  of  the  dead  pass  into  the  company  of  the 
"  illustrious,  as  Fin  MacCoul,  Oskir  MacOshin,  and  the 
"  likes,  of  whom  they  preserve  tales  and  traditionary 
"  songs."  Beyond  the  Green  Isle  and  the  land  of  the 
dead  was  the  Island  of  Youth,  which  was  further  ofl£  and 
harder  to  get  to,  according  to  a  story  got  from  Skye. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  point  out  all  the  mythology 
which  is  scattered  through  Gaelic  stories,  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  unravel  the  details  of  the  system  without  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  oldest  Irish  mythical  tales, 
but  this  much  appears — there  is  more  foundation  in 
Gaelic  mythology  for  the  Mediterranean,  Phoenician, 
Trojan,  Egyptian,  and  Milesian  stories  than  is  generally 
supposed. 

Taking  Sir  Gardiner  Wilkinson's  names  of  Egyptian 
gods,  and  his  account  of  their  attributes  to  be  correct, 

•  West  of  Scotland  Magazine.  842.  (1858.)  I  have  not 
found  the  names  or  the  passage  in  the  author  quoted,  but  he 
describes  an  island  which  rose  from  the  sea,  and  sank,  and  became 
firm  on  shooting  a  fiery  arrow  into  it. 


$24  MYTHOLOGY. 

a  great  many  of  the  names  have  a  resemblance  to 
Gaelic  words  of  appropriate  meaning. 

Thus,  Neph  is  the  equivalent  of  Jupiter,  and  father 
of  all  gods.  Neùmhr(nèv)  means  heaven;  and  naomh, 
often  pronounced  nev,  means  holy. 

Amun  was  a  name  of  the  god  who  presided  over  in- 
undations. Amhain,  avon,  etc.,  are  words  which  mean 
river,  and  can  be  traced  over  great  part  of  Europe. 

Amun  re  was  the  ram-headed  god,  who  was  also 
the  sun.  Reith,  pronounced  ray,  means  a  ram.  Bath, 
pronounced  rA,  means  a  circle,  and  is  applied  to  the 
sun  in  the  ballad  above  quoted.  Re  means  the  moon; 
roth,  pronounced  raw,  means  a  wheel  or  circle. 

Pasht  was  Diana  Lucina.    Paisde  means  a  child. 

Ra  or  Re,  was  the  sun  god  of  Egypt,  and  repre- 
sented as  a  hawk ;  he  was  supported  by  lions  "which  are 
solar  animals,"  and  he  is  the  equivalent  of  Baal.     Beul 
means  the  mouth,  the  front,  the  opening,  the  dawn  of 
day,  the  mouth  of  night,  the  beginning.     Every  one 
has  heard  of  beal-tainn,  the  1st  of  May,  old  style,  and 
"  belten-fires,"  when  branches  of  the  tree  which  bears 
red  rowan  berries  were  very  lately  placed  over  the  cow- 
house doors  in  the  west,  and  when  all  sorts  of  curious 
ceremonies  were  performed   about  the   cattle.     Birch 
branches,  primroses,   and  other  flowers,  were  placed 
upon  the  dresser,  tar  was  put  upon  the  cattle,  snails 
were  put  upon  a  table  under  a  dish,  and  were  expected 
to  write  the  first  letter  of  a  lover's  name,  holes  were 
dug  in  the  ground  and  fortunes  foretold  from  the  kind 
of  ft.ninifl.lH  which  were  found  in  them.     People  used  to 
get  up  early  on  the  morning  of  Easter  Sunday  and  go 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES*  325 

to  the  tops  of  hills  before  sunrise,  in  the  full  belief  that 
they  would  "see  the  sun  take  three  leaps,  and  whirl 
round  like  a  mill  wheel"  for  joy,  which  seems  to  be  a 
mixture  of  Paganism  and  Christianity.  The  ram,  the 
hawk,  the  lion  of  Manus,  and  all  that  tribe  of  mytholo- 
gical beings  may  be  derived  from  astronomical  symbols, 
and  those  of  Egypt  and  the  far  East  may  perhaps 
explain  those  on  the  sculptured  stones  of  Scotland. 

Athor  presided  over  Egyptian  night.  Adftar  means 
tbe  sky.  Athair  means  father,  and  night  according 
to  the  ancients  was  the  mother  of  all  things. 

Osiri  was  the  greatest  of  Egyptian  gods.  O-shior- 
righ,  king  from  everlasting,  would  be  something  like 
the  sound 

Arabic  popular  mythology,  as  given  by  Lane  (Arabian 
Nights,  vol.  i.,  p.  37),  also  bears  upon  that  of  the  west. 

Ghool  is  a  species  of  demon,  and  Delkan  is  another. 
Djeeoul  is  the  sound  of  the  Gaelic  for  a  demon,  though 
the  modern  spelling  rather  points  to  a  Latin  derivation 
for  the  word. 

Sealah  is  a  species  of  demon  which  haunts  an  island 
in  the  China  sea ;  the  Gaelic  name  for  a  seal  is  Eòn, 
but  the  seals  are  supposed  to  be  uncanny  everywhere. 

Ghaddar  is  another  demon  of  hideous  aspect ; 
Cradhar  is  a  hound ;  Grobhar  a  goat ;  and  there  are 
plenty  of  stories  of  demons  appearing  as  goats  and  dogs ; 
Boc  is  a  buck  goat,  and  Bòcain  are  bogles. 

Shirk  is  a  demoniacal  creature,  having  the  form  of 
half  a  human  being,  like  a  man  divided  longitudinally. 

The  Nesnas  is  described  as  having  half  a  head,  half 
a  body,  one  arm,  and  one  leg,  with  which  it  hops  with 


3>6  MYTHOLOGY. 

much  agility.  K"o  each  creatures  appear  in  German  or 
Norse  tales,  but  the  smith,  in  the  Lay  of  the  Smithy, 
had  one  leg  and  one  eye.  In  a  very  wild  version  of 
No.  xxxviii.,  got  from  old  MaePhie,  the  Dieeach 
Ghlinn  Eitide  MacCallain,  the  desert  creature  of 
Glen  Eiti,  the  son  of  Colin,  is  thus  described : — "  With 
one  hand  out  of  his  chest,  one  leg  out  of  his  hannub, 


Fachao  (ns 


•mib»d} 


and  one  eye  out  of  the  front  of  his  face."  He  was  a 
giant,  and  a  wood-cutter,  and  went  at  a  great  pace  be- 
fore the  Irish  king  Murdoch  MacBrian,  who  had  lost 
sight  of  his  red-eared  hound,  and  his  deer,  and  Ireland. 
In  the  same  story  a  "  Fàchan"  is  thus  described : — 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  327 

"  Ugly  was  the  make  of  the  Fachan ;  there  was  one 
hand  out  of  the  ridge  of  his  chest,  and  one  tuft  out  of 
the  top  of  his  head,  it  were  easier  to  take  a  mountain 
from  the  root  than  to  bend  that  tuft." 

Djinnee  is  a  term  for  all  sorts  of  magical  creatures ; 
Djeeanan  is  the  sound  of  the  Gaelic  for  "  Gods." 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  no  sort  of  Gaelic  meaning 
can  be  extracted  from  the  names  in  other  mythologies ; 
for  instance,  from  that  of  the  nearest  race,  the  Norsemen. 
Har  and  Osee,  which  resemble  Athair,  father,  and 
Oscar,  are  almost  the  only  names  in  the  Edda  which 
seem  to  bear  any  likeness  to  a  Gaelic  word.  When  so 
many  old  fables  point  towards  the  eastern  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean  as  the  cradle  of  the  Celtic  race,  it 
is  surely  worth  considering  such  resemblances  as  are 
pointed  out  above,  however  far-fetched  they  may  seem 
to  be.  The  Scotch  pleaded  a  descent  from  Scota, 
Pharoah's  daughter,  against  Edward's  claim,  founded 
on  his  descent  from  Brutus  of  Troy ;  the  Pope  was 
umpire,  and  Bannockburn  the  final  action  in  the  case, 
so  this  is  no  new  idea. 

If  Celts  be  Aryans,  and  these  followed  the  sun 
from  central  Asia,  some  of  them  would  reach  the  shore 
about  Tyre,  if  others  made  their  way  to  Scotland,  and 
called  it  "  Tir  nam  Beann,"  the  shore  of  hills. 

It  is  at  least  certain  that  the  groundwork  of  several 
popular  tales  now  current  amongst  the  peasantry  of  the 
West  Highlands,  were  written  by  Apuleius  in  the  second 
century,  and  it  is  probable  that  these  wore  current  about 
Carthage  some  seventeen  hundred  years  ago.  Nearly 
the  whole  of  the  story  of  Cupid  and  Psyche,  as  told 


3  *8  MYTHOLOGY. 

by  Apuleius,  will  be  found  in  these  volumes,  though 
in  a  very  rough  dress,  in  Nos.  il,  iil,  xil,  xxxm., 
zxxix.,  and  the  story  abstracted  above.  It  is  all 
over  Europe  in  all  sorts  of  shapes,  and  it  was  in  India 
as  a  tale  of  the  love  of  the  sun  for  an  earthly  maiden, 
who  was  also  the  dawn.  It  was  part  of  classical 
mythology,  though  Venus  had  surely  begun  to  lose  her 
power  when  Apuleius  made  her  a  scolding  mother-in- 
law.  It  seems  hopeless  to  speculate  on  the  origin  of  the 
story  anywhere  short  of  the  dawn  of  time ;  but  if  there 
be  any  truth  in  the  "  eastern  origin  of  Celtic  nations," 
it  is  reasonable  to  look  eastwards  for  the  germ  of  Celtic 
mythology. 


On  the  other  hand,  the  bodily  forms,  which  the 
creatures  of  Gaelic  mythology  bear,  often  seem  to  have 
a  foundation  in  fact. 

The  water-bull  is  like  a  common  bull,  though  he 
is  amphibious  and  supernatural,  and  has  the  power  of 
assuming  other  shapes.  He  may  have  been  a  buffalo,  or 
bison,  or  bos  primogenious  long  ago ;  or  even  a  walrus, 
though  mythology  may  have  furnished  his  attributes. 
There  were  human-headed  bulls  at  Nineveh,  and  sacred 
bulls  in  Egypt,  which  had  to  do  with  inundations. 
Bulls  are  sculptured  on  ancient  Scotch  stones;  and 
there  is  a  water-bull  in  nearly  every  Scotch  loch  of  any 
note.  Loch  Ness  is  full  of  them,  but  "  they  never  go 
up  to  the  Fall  of  Foyers." 

Here  are  some  conversations  which  took  place  on 
the  hill-side  and  elsewhere. 


SUPERNATURAL  HISTORY.  329 

D.  "  Water  bulls  !  Did  not  the  uncle  of  that  man 
see  him ! " 

C.  "  Well,  what  was  he  like  % " 

D.  tt  Well,  my  father's  brother  was  a  herd,  and  he 
was  herding  at  the  end  of  that  loch,  and  he  saw  the 
water-bull  coming  out  of  the  water ;  he  was  close  to 
him.  He  was  a  little  ugly  beast,  not  much  more  than 
the  size  of  a  stirk,  and  rough,  and  *  gorm-ghlas ' — blue- 
gray,  *  *  *  and  my  uncle  marked  down  the  day, 
and  the  hour,  and  all  about  it/'  (Here  some  details 
omitted.)  "  "Now,  my  uncle  was  not  a  man  to  think  he 
saw  a  thing  when  he  did  not  see  it ;  he  was  a  quiet, 
steady  man,  and  he  told  his  master  all  about  it" 

E.  "  Oh,  yes  ;  that 's  true  enough." 

D.  "  I  would  not  give  a  snuff  for  what  a  man  sees 
in  the  night ;  he  might  go  wrong.  Many  a  time  have 
I  gone  to  look  at  a  thing  which  I  saw  in  the  night,  and 
it  was  but  a  stone  or  a  tree.  But  what  a  man  sees  in 
the  bright,  clear  white  day-light,  that  is  another  thing. 
There 's  my  brother,  he  was  working  one  day  at  the  end 
of  that  loch.  I  remember  the  day  chosen  welL  It 
was  a  choice  fine  day ;  I  was  working  myself  at  the 

end  of  Loch ,  and  it  was  so  calm,  and  still,  and 

quiet,  not  a  breath  of  wind  moving.  Well,  my  bro- 
ther saw  that  loch  with  great  waves  breaking  all  round 
it,  from  the  middle  on  the  shores,  and  that  is  certain 
sure ;  a  thing  which  a  man  sees  by  the  white  light  of 
day,  in  the  light  of  the  sun,  is  not  like  what  a  man 
sees  in  night.     Well  do  I  mind  that  day." 

C.  "  And  did  you  ever  hear  that  the  bull  did  harm 
to  any  body?" 


330  MYTHOLOGY. 

D.  "  No,  never ;  but  it  cannot  be  a  good  thing,  or, 
in  a  small  loch  like  that  it  would  be  seen  oftener.  It 
could  not  keep  hid." 

C.  takes  a  mental  note  of  the  narrator's  earnest 
poetical  figurative  language  and  features,  which  tell  of 
firm  belief  in  the  mystic  bull,  and  proceeds  to  ask 
questions  of  other  inhabitants. 

Boy.  "  Oh,  yes,  they  see  water-bulls  often  about 
that  loch.  My  father  has  been  herd  there  for  four- 
teen years  and  he  has  never  seen  anything,  but  there 

was  a  woman  one  evening  coming  across  Loch in 

a  boat,  and  she  heard  him  blowing  and  snorting,  and 
she  turned  back,  and  left  the  boat,  and  stretched  out 
home.      That  was  the  water-horse,  not  the  bulL" 

C.  thinks  of  the  rules  of  evidence  and  the  blowing 
of  an  angry  otter,  and  smokes  gravely. 

Boy  No.  2,  carrying  knapsack  along  a  road  distant 
some  twenty  miles  from  boy  1.  "  There  are  no  water- 
bulls  down  here  (the  sea),  but  up  at  the  small  loch 
which  is  in  that  glen  there  are  plenty  of  water-horses. 
Men  have  seen  him  walking  about  the  shore  of  the 
lake.  He  is  just  like  another  horse,  but  much  wilder 
like.  He  is  gray.  There  was  an  old  soldier  up  at  that 
loch  last  summer ;  he  was  living  in  a  booth  with  his 
wife,  fishing  trout,  and  getting  small  white  things  out 
of  shells  that  he  finds  there.  He  says  he  gets  eighteen 
shillings  and  a  pound  for  them ;  they  will  be  setting 
them  in  rings." 

"  One  night  he  heard  the  water-horse  blowing  and 
splashing  in  the  loch,  and  he  got  such  a  fright  tliat  he 


SUPERNATURAL  HISTORY.  3  3  I 

stretched  out  and  left  the  place,  and  he  would  not  go 
there  again." 

C.  smokes,  and  sees  a  vision  of  a  pearl  fishery 
guarded  by  the  water-horse-guards,  of  a  knowing  old 
genius  whom  he  had  met  on  the  road,  moving  his 
camp  to  the  south. 

Man,  a  hundred  miles  away  in  another  island,  de- 
clares "  that  he  has  often  seen  bulls  feeding  about  the 
lake  sides  with  the  cattle,  and  the  cows  often  had  calves. 
They  are  'corcach/  short-eared,  a  cross  between  the 
water-bull  and  a  land-cow.  They  are  easily  known. 
No  one  has  ever  seen  a  water-cow." 

"  Loch- Ard  na  h'-uamh  is  famous  for  water-horses. 
They  have  been  ridden  to  market.  Some  men  who 
mounted  them  have  been  drowned,  others  had  very 
narrow  escapes.  The  other  water-horses  sometimes 
tore  the  one  that  had  been  ridden  to  pieces.  They  are 
just  like  other  horses,  but  live  under  water." 

Boy  in  another  island.  "There  are  no  water-bulls 

here,  but  in  a  loch  near  B ,  where  I  come  from, 

they  are  seen  very  often.  I  saw  a  man  that  saw  one 
in  that  loch.  He  saw  nothing  but  his  back,  but  the 
loch  was  all  in  waves,  though  it  was  a  calm  day. 
That  has  been  seen  not  once  or  twice,  but  various 
times. 

Audience  suddenly  remembers  that  Scotland  was 
shaken  by  a  slight  earthquake  some  years  ago. 

Boy  in  another  island.  "That  is  not  the  lake 
where  the  water-horse  was  seen.  It  was  down  south. 
It  is  a  large  lake  where  there  might  be  many  a  thing 
that  a  man  might  not  know ;  but  the  man  saw,  as  it 


33*  MYTHOLOGY. 

were,  the  likeness  of  a  man  rising  tip  out  of  the  water, 
and  that  must  have  been  a  bad  spirit." 

As  this  was  a  place  where  the  telling  of  stories,  and 
music  are  interdicted,  and  the  poor,  mild  water-bull  had 
now  become  a  bad  spirit,  it  seemed  worth  finding  out 
what  change  had  followed  in  the  popular  manners. 

C.  "  Will  there  be  many  people  at  the  market  ?  " 

B.  "  There  will  be  a  great  many." 

"  Do  they  all  come  to  buy  and  sell  Ì " 

"  Oh  !  no ;  they  just  come." 

"  Will  there  be  music  there  Ì  n 

"  There  will  not." 

"  Or  dancing  Ì " 

"  No." 

"  WiH  there  be  drinking  ?" 

"  Oh  !  that  there  will  indeed. " 

L.  "They  will  be  so  wild  after  the  market  that  I 
cannot  let  you  take  the  gig,  unless  a  big  man  goes 
with  it ;  they  would  kill  the  boy  and  the  horse." 

C.  meets  a  most  quiet,  orderly,  decorous  set  of 
polite,  civil  men  and  women  going  to  market  with  their 
beasts,  and  wonders.  He  remembers  the  old  fun  and 
frolic  of  a  Highland  fair,  the  dancing,  the  games,  the 
shinny,  the  processions,  the  races,  the  happy  faces,  the 
sober  family  parties  returning  home ;  and  if  he  does  re- 
member to  have  heard  of  a  drunken  riot  now  and  then 
amongst  the  wilder  spirits,  that  was  not  the  prominent 
feature  of  a  Highland  fair  thirty  years  ago.  At  night 
he  is  told  that  if  he  persists  in  asking  a  man  to  play 
the  fiddle,  the  neighbours  will  certainly  "  commit  a 
breach  of  the  peace."     Wonders  still  more.     A  few 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STOKIES.  333 

daya  after  lie  is  overtaken  by  some  very  noisy,  drunken, 
uncivil,  riotous,  quarrelsome  creatures,  who  have  not 


enough  brains  left  to  whistle  a  tunc  or  to  tell  a  story 
withal,  and  therefore  the  suppression  of  innocent  amuse- 
ment does  not  appear  to  Tiim  to  have  done  much  good. 
Here  are  men  naturally  polite,  full  of  fun,  wit,  imagi- 
nation, and  poetry,  forced  to  let  off  all  the  steam  at 
once,  and  making  beasts  of  themselves  in  consequence. 

Within  a  few  miles,  men  who  had  not  been  to 
market  were  sober,  pleasant,  and  amusing,  repeating 
good  poetry  to  a  pleased  audience,  but  they  too  were 
very  glad  to  have  a  dram.    More's  the  pity. 

Why  should  not  the  uneducated  be  taught  with  a 
liberal  spirit  1 


334  MYTHOLOGY. 

But  to  return  to  the  water-bulL  The  following 
story  shews  him  as  the  friend  of  man,  and  the  foe  of 
the  savage  water-horse,  and  that  is  his  usual  character 
in  popular  mythology. 

No.  383. — In  one  of  the  islands  here  (Islay),  on  the 
northern  side,  there  lived  before  now  a  great  farmer, 
and  he  had  a  large  stock  of  cattle.  It  happened  one 
day  that  a  calf  was  born  amongst  them,  and  an  old 
woman  who  lived  in  the  place,  as  soon  as  ever  she  saw 
it,  ordered  that  it  should  be  put  in  a  house  by  itself, 
and  kept  there  for  seven  years,  and  fed  on  the  milk  of 
three  cows.  And  as  every  thing  which  this  old  woman 
advised  was  always  done  in  the  "  bailie/'  this  also  was 
done.  (It  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  progeny  of  the 
water-bull  can  be  recognised  by  an  expert  by  the  shape 
of  the  ears.) 

A  long  time  after  these  things  a  servant  girl 
went  with  the  farmer's  herd  of  cattle  to  graze  them  at 
the  side  of  a  loch,  and  she  sat  herself  down  near  the 
bank.  There,  in  a  little  while,  what  should  she  see 
walking  towards  her  but  a  man  (no  description  of  him 
given  in  this  version),  who  asked  her  to  "  fasg  "  his  hair. 
She  said  she  was  willing  enough  to  do  him  that  service, 
and  so  he  laid  his  head  on  her  knee,  and  she  began  to 
arrange  his  locks,  as  Neapolitan  damsels  also  do  by  their 
swains.  But  soon  she  got  a  great  fright,  for,  growing 
amongst  the  man's  hair,  she  found  a  great  quantity  of 
u  liobhagach  an  locha,"  a  certain  slimy  green  weed  that 
abounds  in  such  lochs,  fresh,  salt,  and  brackish.  (In 
another  version  it  was  sand.)  The  girl  knew  that  if 
she  screamed  there  was  an  end  of  her,  so  she  kept  her 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  335 

terror  to  herself,  and  worked  away  till  the  man  fell 
asleep,  as  he  was  with  his  head  on  her  knee.  Then 
she  untied  her  apron  strings,  and  slid  the  apron  quietly 
on  to  the  ground  with  its  burden  upon  it,  and  then  she 
took  her  feet  home  as  fast  as  it  was  in  her  heart. 
(This  incident  I  have  heard  told  in  the  Isle  of  Man  and 
elsewhere,  of  a  girl  and  a  supernatural)  Now  when  she 
was  getting  near  the  houses  she  gave  a  glance  behind 
her,  and  there  she  saw  her  "caraid"  (friend)  coming 
after  her  in  the  likeness  of  a  horse. 

He  had  nearly  reached  her,  when  the  old  woman 
who  saw  what  was  going  on  called  out  to  open  the  door 
of  the  wild  bull's  house,  and  in  a  moment  out  sprang 
the  bull 

He  gave  an  eye  all  round  about  him,  and  then 
rushed  off  to  meet  the  horse,  and  when  they  met  they 
fought,  and  they  never  stopped  fighting  till  they  drove 
each  other  out  into  the  sea,  and  no  one  could  tell  which 
of  them  was  best.  "Next  day  the  body  of  the  bull  was 
found  on  the  shore  all  torn  and  spoilt,  but  the  horse 
was  never  more  seen  at  alL 

The  narrator  prefaced  this  story  by  remarking  that 
it  was  "  perfectly  true,"  for  he  had  it  from  a  lobster 
fisher,  who  heard  it  from  an  old  man  who  witnessed 
the  whole  scene.  It  was  suggested  to  him  that  the 
"  old  woman"  was  a  witch,  but  he  would  have  his  story 
told  in  his  own  way,  and  said  "  Well,  I  suppose  she 
was  a  witch,  but  I  did  not  hear  it." 

Mr.  Pattieson,  who  wrote  down  this  version,  regrets 
that  he  did  not  get  a  fuller  description  of  the 
animals.     I  have  a  fuller  description  of  them,  and  of 


336  MYTHOLOGY. 

the  girl,  with  all  the  names  of  the  people,  and  the 
places,  fully  set  forth.  The  ball  was  large  and  black, 
he  was  found  groaning  in  a  peat  hag,  and  was  helped 
by  the  girl's  lover,  who  brought  him  food,  though  he 
suspected  him  to  be  the  water-bull  The  girl  was 
dark-haired  and  brown-eyed,  and  the  farmer's  daughter. 
Her  lover  was  an  active  Highland  lad,  and  a  drover,  who 
went  by  the  name  of  "  Eachan  coir  nan  ord,"  "  Gentle 
Hector  of  the  hammers,"  and  he  was  fair-haired. 

There  was  a  rejected  rival  suitor  who  takes  the 
place  of  the  water-horse,  who  threw  his  plaid  over  the 
girl's  head  when  she  is  at  a  shealing,  and  carried  her 
off,  but  the  black  water-bull  rushed  in  just  at  the  nick 
of  time,  crushed  the  wicked  wooer  to  the  earth,  invited 
the  lady  to  mount  on  his  back,  and  carried  her  safely 
home,  when  he  disappeared,  singing — 

Chaidh  conadh  rium  le  ogair  caomh, 

S'  ri  oigh  rinn  mise  baigh 

Deigh  tri  cheud  bliana  do  dh  aosa  chruaidh 

Thoir  fuasgladh  dhomh  gun  dail. 

Aid  came  to  me  by  a  gentle  youth, 
And  to  a  maiden  I  brought  aid ; 
After  three  hundred  years  of  my  hard  age, 
Give  me  my  freedom  without  delay. 

This  clearly  then  is  as  mythical  a  bull  as  the  "  black 
bull  o*  Norroway,"  and  Mr.  Peter  Buchan's  bull  in 
Eashencoatie,  and  the  dun  bull  in  Katie  Woodencloak, 
the  Candlemas  bull  which  was  looked  for  in  the  sky, 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  337 

and  the  sign  Taurus ;  and  perhaps  the  "Tarbh  uisge,"  is  of 
the  same  breed  as  that  famous  Egyptian  bull  who  Was 
the  god  of  the  land  of  Scota,  Pharoah's  daughter. 

The  water-horse  is  generally  but  a  vicious,  amphibi- 
ous, supernatural  horse ;  and  there  is  a  real  sea-creature 
whose  head  may  have  suggested  that  there  were  real 
horses  in  the  sea.  But  there  were  sacred  horses  every 
where  in  the  East,  so  the  attributes  of  water-horses  are 
probably  mythological.  But  the  water-horse  assumes 
many  shapes ;  he  often  appears  as  a  man,  and  some- 
times as  a  large  bird.  In  this  last  form  he  was  "  seen" 
by  a  certain  man,  who  described  him.  The  narrator 
waded  up  to  his  shoulders  one  cold  day  in  February, 
in  a  certain  muir  loch,  to  get  a  shot  at  him ;  but  when 
he  got  within  "  eighty-five  yards  "  of  him,  the  animal 
dived,  and  the  sportsman,  after  waiting  for  "three 
quarters  of  an  hour/'  returned  to  shore.  There  he  re- 
mained for  more  than  "  five  hours  and  a  half,"  but  the 
creature  never  rose.  In  form  and  colour  he  was  very 
like  the  Great  Northern  Diver,  with  the  exception  of 
the  white  on  his  neck  and  breast ;  the  wings  were  of 
the  same  proportion,  the  neck  was  "  two  feet  eleven 
inches  long,"  and  "twenty-three  in  circumference:" 
bill  about  "  seventeen  inches  long,"  and  hooked  like  an 
eagle's  at  the  end ;  legs  very  short,  black,  and  power- 
ful ;  feet  webbed  till  within  five  inches  of  the  toes, 
with  tremendous  claws.  Footprints,  as  measured  in 
the  mud  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake,  cover  a  space 
equal  to  that  contained  within  the  span  of  a  pair  of 
large  antlers ;  voice  like  the  roar  of  an  angry  bull;  lives 
on  calves,  sheep,  lambs,  and  otters,"  etc.    If  that  "eye- 

VOL.  iv.  z 


338  MYTHOLOGY. 

witness"  had  only  taken  his  long  bow  with,  him  in- 
stead of  his  gun,  I  have  no  doubt  he  might  have 
secured  a  specimen  of  the  "  Boobrie."  Nevertheless,  I 
have  heard  of  the  Boobrie  from  several  people  who 
were  beyond  the  reach  of  this  "  eye-witness  f  so  he  has 
a  real  existence  in  the  popular  mind. 

The  dragon  which  haunts  Highland  sea  lochs  and 
Gaelic  stories  surely  had  the  same  origin  as  the  Noise 
sea-serpent,  figured  in  the  wood-cut,  and  the  great  sea- 
snake  of  the  Edda,  which  encircled  the  whole  world* 
The  bodily  shape  might  have  been  that  of  a  survi- 
vor of  an  extinct  species,  the  attributes  those  of  a  sea- 
god.  The  creature  figured  by  Pontippidan  has  rela- 
tions at  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  in  geological  museums; 
and  yet  the  bishop  knew  nothing  of  geology  a  hundred 
years  ago. 

Even  the  fairies  seem  to  have  a  foundation  in  feet. 
If  the  Dean  of  the  Isles  told  the  truth  in  his  book  of 
statistics,  quoted  above,  the  bones  of  pigmies  have 
been  found ;  and  the  ancient  habitations  of  a  diminu- 
tive race  are  still  found  occasionally  in  the  sand  hills 
of  South  Uist,  and  elsewhere.  In  a  "  Sithchean,"  near 
Sligechean  in  Skye,  piping  used  to  be  commonly  heard, 
according  to  some  of  my  informants.  One  of  my  ac- 
quaintance is  commonly  reported  to  fly  with  the 
fairies.  They  take  him  to  certain  churchyards,  and 
bring  him  back  again.  A  lout  of  a  boy,  who  in- 
formed me  that  stories  were  very  wicked,  nevertheless 
added — 

"  That  fairies  are,  is  certain.  I  know  two  sisters — 
one  of  them  is  a  little  deaf — and  they  heard  a  sound 


340  MYTHOLOGY. 

in  a  liill,  and  they  followed  the  sound ;  and  did  they 
not  sit  and  listen  to  the  piping  there  till  they  were 
seven  times  tired !     There  is  no  question  about  that." 

A  worthy  antiquary  shewed  me,  amongst  a  lot  of 
curious  gear,  a  stone  arrow  head,  and  said — 

"  That  is  a  fairy  dart,  which  a  man  brought  me  a 
few  days  ago.  He  said  he  heard  a  whistling  in  the 
air,  and  that  it  fell  at  his  feet  in  the  road,  and  he 
picked  it  up,  and  brought  it  away  with  him." 

A  tinker  assured  me,  with  evident  belief  that  a 
man  had  taken  such  an  arrow  from  an  ash-tree,  where 
he  had  heard  it  strike. 

A  doctor  told  this  anecdote — 

"  Do  you  see  that  kind  of  shoulder  on  the  hill  ? 
Well,  a  man  told  me  that  he  was  walking  along  there 
with  another  who  used  to  "  go  with  the  fairies,"  and  he 
said  to  him— 

" '  I  know  that  they  are  coming  for  me  this  night. 
If  they  come,  I  must  go  with  them  ;  and  I  shall  see 
them  come,  and  the  first  that  come  will  make  a  bow 
to  me,  and  pass  on ;  and  so  I  shall  know  that  they  are 
going  to  take  me  with  them.' 

"  'Well/  said  the  man,  'we  had  not  gone  far  when 
the  man  called  out,  '  Tha  iad  so  air  tighin.'  These  are 
come.  I  see  a  number  of  '  sluagh'  the  people ;  and 
now  they  are  making  bows  to  me.  And  now  they  are 
gone/  And  then  he  was  quiet  for  a  while.  Then  he 
began  again ;  and  at  last  he  began  to  cry  out  to  hold 
him,  or  that  he  would  be  off. 

"  Well,"  said  the  doctor,  "the  man  was  a  bold  fellow, 
and  he  held  on  by  the  other,  and  he  began  to  run,  and 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  3  4  I 

leap,  and  at  last  (as  the  man  told  me)  he  was  fairly 
lifted  np  by  the  '  sluagh/  and  taken  away  from  him, 
and  he  found  him  about  a  couple  of  miles  further  on, 
laid  on  the  ground.  He  told  him  that  they  had  car- 
ried him  through  the  air,  and  dropped  him  there. 
And,"  said  the  doctor,  "that  is  a  story  that  was  told  me 
as  a  fact,  a  very  short  time  ago,  by  the  man  whom  I 
was  attending." 

Not  far  off  I  was  told  this  in  a  house  full  of  people, 
all  of  whom  knew  the  story,  and  seemed  to  believe  it 
implicitly. 

"  There  was  a  piper  in  this  island,  and  he  had  three 
sons.  The  two  eldest  learned  the  pipes,  and  they 
were  coming  on  famously ;  but  the  youngest  could  not 
learn  at  all  At  last,  one  day,  he  was  going  about  in 
the  evening,  very  sorrowfully,  when  he  saw  '  bruth/ 
a  fairy  hillock,  laid  open."  (There  was  one  close  to  the 
house,  which  had  been  exactly  like  the  rest  of  its  class. 
It  was  levelled,  and  human  bones  were  found  in  it, 
according  to  the  minister).  "  He  went  up  to  the  door, 
and  he  struck  his  knife  into  it,  because  he  had  heard 
from  old  people  that  if  he  did  that,  the  '  sluagh'  could 
not  shut  the  door.  Well,  they  were  very  angry,  and 
asked  him  what  he  wanted,  but  he  was  not  a  bit  afraid. 
He  told  them  that  he  could  not  play  the  pipes  a  bit, 
and  asked  them  to  help  him.  They  gave  him  '  Fea- 
dan  dubh/  a  black  chanter,  but  he  said — 

"  '  That's  no  use  to  me,  for  I  do'nt  know  how  to 

» 

play  it/ 

"  Then  they  came  about  him,  and  shewed  him  how 
to  move  his  fingers ;  that  he  was  to  lift  this  one  and 


342  MYTHOLOGY. 

lay  down  that ;  and  when  he  had  been  with  them  a 
while,  he  thanked  them,  and  took  out  his  knife,  and 
went  away,  and  the  '  Bruth'  closed  behind  him. 

"  Now  that  man  became  one  of  the  most  famous 

pipers  in ,  and  his  people  were  alive  till  very 

lately.     I  am  sure  you  all  know  that  1" 

Chorus^"  Oh  yes."  "  Yes,  indeed."  "  It  is  cer- 
tain that  there  were  such  people,  whether  they  are  now 
or  not."    "  0  yes,  that  is  sure" — 

"  Do  I  not  know  a  man  who  was  in  the  island  of 

,  and  he  was  sitting  by  himself  in  a  hut,  with  a 

fire  lit ;  and  it  was  a  wild  night.  The  door  was  pushed 
open,  and  a  gray  horse  put  in  his  head.  But  the  man 
was  not  afraid,  and  put  up  the  palm  of  his  hand  this 
way  to  the  horse's  nose,  and  he  said,  '  You  worthy- 
horse,  you  must  go  away  from  this;'  and  the  horse 
went  out  backwards."  "  And  were  there  no  horses  in 
the  island  Ì "  "  No ;  never,  never."  Chorus — "  Never, 
never."  "  That  was  the  water-horse."  "  That's 
sure." 

A  boy,  some  hundreds  of  miles  away,  told  me  that 
"  there  was  a  man  who  built  a  house,  and  as  often  as  it 
was  built  it  was  burned  down ;  but  they  told  him  to 
put  a  bit  of  ivy  into  it,  and  he  did  that,  and  the  house 
was  not  burned  that  time. 

All  England  was  dressing  its  churches  and  dinner 
tables  with  Christmas  ivy  a  short  time  ago,  but  few 
will  think  that  this  is  a  Celtic  charm  against  the 
fairies,  or  that  ivy  was  planted  against  houses  to  guard 
them  from  fire. 

An  old  Welsh  dairymaid,  from  near  Shropshire, 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  343 

denied  all  knowledge  of  King  Arthur.  "  She  had  never 
heard  of  him,  not  she."  She  did  not  know  of  her  own 
knowledge  that  the  fairies  carried  people  away,  but  she 
had  heard  that  a  woman,  who  lived  some  distance  from 
her  father's  house,  had  two  children  carried  off  by 
fairies.  They  left  her  two  others,  which  were  just  like 
her  own ;  but  they  were  always  crying.  She  went  to 
a  wise  woman,  and  she  told  her  to  go  to  a  river  where 
there  was  a  bridge — a  single  plank  like — and  to  take 
one  of  the  children  in  each  hand,  and  drop  them  in  the 
middle. 

"  Well,  I  cannot  say  if  it  is  true.  I  can  only  tell  it 
as  I  heard  it ;  but  I  heard  that  the  woman  did  take 
the  two  children,  and  drop  them  into  the  middle  of 
the  stream ;  and  when  she  got  home  she  found  her  own 
two  children,  quite  safe  and  well,  in  the  house  before 
her." 

There  must  be  some  foundation  for  all  this  wide- 
spread belief  in  the  existence  of  a  small  people.  A 
woman  lately  described  their  dress  and  appearance  as 
seen  in  Islay.  "  They  were  dressed  in  green  kilts,  and 
green  coats,  and  green  conical  caps — sharp  caps  like  the 
"  Clogadan,"  helmets  which  children  make  of  rushes." 
A  rim  is  woven  into  a  kind  of  basket-work  coronet, 
and  the  points  are  gathered  together  and  make  a  high 
cone.  Swedish  Lapps  now  wear  caps  of  the  same  shape. 
Fairies  thus  dressed  have  been  seen  marching  "  like  a 
wedding,"  with  a  piper  playing  before  them;  and 
such  a  procession  goes  by  the  name  of  "  Banais  shith," 
a  fairy  wedding. 

"  And  did  they  ever  wear  arms  1" 


344  MYTHOLOGY. 

"  No ;  they  had  not  pith  enough  to  bear  arms ; 
they  were  but  spirits." 

Nevertheless,  they  had  bodily  strength,  and  worked 
hand  mills,  if  all  tales  be  true. 

This  class  of  stories  is  so  widely  spread,  so  matter- 
of-fact,  hangs  so  well  together,  and  is  so  implicitly 
believed  all  over  the  united  kingdom,  that  I  am  per- 
suaded of  the  former  existence  of  a  race  of  men  in  these 
islands  who  were  smaller  in  stature  than  the  Celts ; 
who  used  stone  arrows,  lived  in  conical  mounds  like 
the  Lapps,  knew  some  mechanical  arts,  pilfered  goods 
and  stole  children;  and  were  perhaps  cotemporary 
with  some  species  of  wild  cattle  and  horses,  and  great 
auks,  which  frequented  marshy  ground,  and  are  now 
remembered  as  water -bulls,  and  water -horses,  and 
boobries,  and  such  like  impossible  creatures. 

I  leave  it  to  ethnologists  and  geologists  to  say 
whether  this  popular  supernatural  history  has  any 
bearing  upon  modern  discoveries ;  whether  it  may  not 
be  referred  to  the  same  period  as  the  lake  habitations 
of  Switzerland,  Denmark,  Ireland,  and  the  Scotch 
Isles ;  the  sepulchral  chambers  containing  human  re- 
mains, and  surrounded  by  bones  which  appear  to  be 
those  of  animals  now  extinct ;  the  works  of  art  in  the 
drift ;  and  the  relics  of  fossil  men. 

And  here,  with  an  apology  for  this  lengthy  postscript, 
I  will  leave  Highland  Tales  for  the  consideration  of 
learned  men  well  read  in  mythology  and  like  subjects.* 

*  Note  to  Avaloh,  on  Page  265. 
Another  explanation  of  this  ancient  British  tradition  may  per- 
haps be  found  in  the  discovery  of  America  by  the  Northmen  in 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  345 

the  tenth  century,  described  in  the  abstract  of  evidence  taken 
from  Icelandic  Sagas,  and  published  by  the  Society  of  Northern 
Antiquarians  in  1837. 

It  there  appears  that  in  986  Eric  the  Red  emigrated  from 
Iceland  to  Greenland,  and  in  subsequent  years  other  voyagers 
made  their  way  down  the  coast  of  America,  and  named  one  part 
of  the  country  Vinland,  from  the  vines  which  a  German  who  was 
of  the  party  found  there. 

In  1006  a  certain  Thorfinn,  who  was  sprung  from  "  Danish, 
Norwegian,  Swedish,  Irish,  and  Scottish'*  ancestors,  some  of  whom 
were  kings  of  royal  descent,  effected  a  settlement  in  Vinland. 

In  1003,  an  exploring  party  had  fallen  in  with  a  place  called 
"  Irland  it  Mickla,"  which  was  inhabited  by  white  men,  who  had 
iron  implements,  and  it  seems  to  be  implied  that  these  were 
Irishmen  settled  in  Florida.  The  stories  of  the  voyages  of  Biorn 
Asbrandson,  and  Gudleif  Gudlaugen,  are  extremely  like  the  tra- 
ditions now  current  in  the  west,  about  voyagers  who  discover  a 
mysterious  western  land,  and  there  find  ancient  heroes  still  living 
in  their  old  way. 

Some  Norse  traders,  as  it  is  said,  after  a  trading  voyage  to 
Dublin,  were  driven  far  to  the  South  West,  and  found  an  un- 
known land,  where  inhabitants  spoke  Irish,  and  who  seized  and 
bound  them.  A  man  of  distinguished  appearance,  with  gray 
hair,  and  with  a  banner  carried  before  him,  came  riding  down  to 
the  shore,  addressed  the  strangers  in  the  Norse  language,  and 
after  some  time  the  natives,  who  paid  him  great  respect,  agreed 
that  he  should  decide  the  fate  of  the  strangers. 

He  was  Biorn  Asbrandson,  and  he,  after  taking  counsel  with 
twelve  of  the  natives,  sent  his  countrymen  away  with  gifts  for  his 
friends  in  Iceland.  The  voyagers  returned  to  Dublin,  and  next 
year  to  Iceland.  Now,  if  this  is  not  a  Celtic  myth  in  an  Icelandic 
dress,  the  Celtic  myth  now  current  has  a  foundation  in  fact.  If 
the  Sagas  are  to  be  depended  upon,  America  was  discovered  by 
Icelanders,  but  by  men  who  frequented  the  Hebrides  and  Ire- 


34-6  A  FLEA  FOB  GAELIC. 

].ind ;  and  it  it  expressly  stated  in  these  Sagas  that  Hebridians  and 
Irishmen  accompanied  some  of  these  American  expeditions.  It 
seems  quite  possible  that  the  real  event  maj  now  be  remembered 
as  a  legend  in  the  countries  whence  Toyages  were  made.  There 
is  a  resemblance  between  Fionn  and  Thorfinn,  and  Fionn's  land 
and  Yinland,  and  apples  are  now  common  enough  in  America, 
whether  they  grew  there.  Avalon  is  like  AvLm  (apples),  as 
written  by  one  of  my  correspondents. 

A  Plea  fob  Gaelic. 

And  now  let  me  add  a  word  about  the  Gaelic  lan- 
guage. 

It  is  commonly  said,  "  You  have  no  literature ; 
the  language  is  not  worth  learning." 

A  writer  in  the  newspapers,  who  was  kind  enough 
to  praise  me,  nevertheless  found  great  fault  with  the 
publication  of  Gaelic.  The  publishers  say,  "  Gaelic  is 
a  dead  weight  in  the  trade."  My  friends  say,  "Give 
us  no  more  Gaelic." 

The  British  Museum  Library  is  a  national  institution, 
and  spends  very  large  sums  on  books,  but  such  Gaelic 
books  as  "  Gillies  "  and  "  Carswell "  were  not  there  in 
1861.  The  Advocates'  Library  in  Edinburgh  has 
"Gillies,"  but  no  "Carswell," not  even  "Eeid's  Biblio- 
theca  Scoto  Celtica,"  which  gives  a  list  of  Gaelic  books. 

What  there  may  be  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge  I  do 
not  know,  but  I  do  not  believe  that  the  published  Gaelic 
books  are  to  be  found  together  in  any  one  public  library. 
I  bought  "  Gillies "  for  a  few  shillings  in  Glasgow,  and 
the  Duke  of  Argyle  has  "  Carswell,"  under  lock  and 
key,  for  it  is  valuable,  and  has  been  lost.  I  lately  at- 
tended the  lectures  of  one  of  the  best  of  modern  phi- 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  347 

lologists,  chiefly  with  a  view  to  Gaelic  as  it  relates  to 
Sanscrit.  The  Celtic  tribes  were  placed  by  him  in  the 
front  ranks  of  the  Aryan  migration,  the  names  of  the 
most  distinguished  German  scholars  were  associated  with 
Gaelic  learning,  but  still  in  lectures  addressed  to  an 
English  audience,  of  whom  a  large  proportion  must  have 
had  "  Celtic  Crania,"  and  all  of  whom  use  Gaelic  words 
in  their  ordinary  speech,  there  was  scarcely  a  word 
about  the  old  languages  of  Great  Britain  in  early  days, 
and  yet  Gaelic  and  Sanscrit  are  allied,  and  Gaelic 
throws  light  on  the  relationship  which  exists  between 
Sanscrit  and  English. 

Compare  the  form  of  the  verb  "  to  be"  in  the  three 
languages.  The  Gaelic  verb  is  an  assertion  of  exist- 
ence, followed  by  the  name  of  the  person  or  thing 
referred  to ;  and  if  the  corresponding  English  words  be 
taken  instead  of  the  verb,  and  the  Gaelic  sounds  are 
spelt,  the  three  languages  are  like  each  other,  and  the 
Gaelic  is  the  simplest  form. 

I  am  thou  art  he  is  English, 

àsmi  asi  asti  Sanscrit, 

ha-mee  ha-oo  ha-e  Gaelic  sound, 

is  me  is  thee  is  he  literal  translation. 

The  past  tense  of  the  verb  is  an  assertion  of  past 
being  Bha,  pronounced  VA. 

Gaelic  is  closely  related  to  the  classical  languages. 
Pritchard's  Eastern  origin  of  the  Celtic  nations,  and 
Armstrong's  Gaelic  dictionary,  and  similar  works,  will 
shew  how  much  there  is  of  resemblance  between  Gaelic, 
Latin,  Greek,  etc. ;  and  it  is  generally  admitted  that  a 


348 


A  PLEA  FOB  GAELIC 


Keltic  language  is  at  the  foundation  of  the  classical 
tongues.  An  eccentric  Gaelic  schoolmaster  is  quoted  in 
the  West  of  Scotland  Magazine,  who  used  to  spout  in- 
telligible Gaelic  imitations  of  Latin  authors  for  hours 
— such  as,  "  Anna  virumque  cano."  "  Airm  a's  fir  se 
chanum."  The  dominie  said  he  was  cracked,  hut  there 
was  method  in  his  madness. 


The  following  words  which  I  have  gathered  from 
hooks  and  from  my  friends  appear  to  bear  upon  Gaelic — 

68th  Psalm,  4th  verse,  "  Extol  him  that  rideth  upon  the  heavens 

by  his  name  J  AH. 


English. 

God    .     . 
shine 
heaven    . 


Day    . 


Sanskrit 

Deva  .  . 
Div  .  . 
Dyo  


Dyu 


Light.     .     .      jwàlà 


flame  .     .     .       iwala 
light  .     .     .       heli 


Sun     .     .     .       heli 
house.     .     .       Griha- 


heaven     .     .       nabhas  — 
smoke      .     .       nabbolaya 


Phonetic  Gaelic.      English,  àc 


DjeeA.  YeeA 
djaw .     . 
an  dew    . 
an  djay   . 
djee    .     . 
tjays  .     . 
djArs.     . 
djAlAnAch 
geeAl 
geeAlvAn 
geeAlAch 
glAn  .     . 
djAlrAch 
lies     .     . 
solus  .     . 
soileir 


moon 


kledu 


greeAnAn 
greeAn   . 
grai    .     . 
nyeav 
nyèl   .     . 
nyeoil 


God  (Vocative) 

breath 

to-day 

yesterday 

day 

heat 

shine 

lightening 

white 

fire 

moon 

clear  glancing 

shining 

light,  a  gleam 

light 

clear 


house,  dwelling 
Sun  (fsem) 
love 

heaven  holy 
a  cloud 
clouds 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES. 


349 


English. 


Sanskrit. 


a  shore 
water . 


water . 
sea 

an  eye 


Tira 
uda 


Var 
mira 


Lochana 


earth  .     .     .      Dhàrà 


agriculture  .      krishi 
to  plough  (ear)  Ar  — 


to  make  .  . 

man   . 

a  man     .  . 

I  live  .     .  . 

knowledge  . 


knowledge 
wise    . 
a  sage 
a  tree . 


king  . 
family 


brother 
mother 
father 


jan 

jana 

vlra 


^ivà  mi 
juà     — 


vid     . 
vidvas 
Buddha- 
Dru   — 


Rajan 
kufa  - 


bhratri 

màtri 

Pitri 


horse .     .    .      As'  va 


cow 


Go 


Phonetic  Gaelic.           English. 

klAdAch 

tidal  shore 

tjeer  .     . 

shore 

ooisge     - 

water 

aigean    . 

ocean 

vArA 

(to  the)  sea 
(of  the)  sea 

mArA 

mmr  .     . 

the  sea 

Lochan  . 

a    pool,    also 
called  a  trem- 

gArt .     . 

bling  eye 
corn  land 

tAlav 

tellus 

troosh     . 

gather 

ArAr 

standing  corn 

ei— ir .     . 

a  boat 

djèn    .     . 

make — do 

duine .     . 

man 

fèr.     .     . 

a  male  indivi- 

dual— one 

vA  mee  . 

I  was 

se-nA-gaw 

It  is  known  to 

gA-goot . 

me,  to  him, 

to  thee 

fees    .    . 

knowledge 

fees-eech-e 

soothsayer 

bodach    . 

an  old  man 

dru     .     . 

an  oak 

druiAch  . 

a  conjuror 

druy  .     . 

a  house,  chariot 

ree     .     . 

.      king 

whelp,  young 

coolain    . 

of  any  ani- 

mal, term  of 

endearment 

clAn  .     . 

children 

brAair    . 

brother 

mar    .     . 

mere,  mother 

A — air    . 

Father 

A — ar     . 

Heaven,  the  air 

Art    .     . 

.      a  God 

Art    .     . 

Arthur,  a  com- 

mon name  of 

kings 

Each  .     . 

horse 

shArrAch 

foal 

bo . 

cow 

35° 


A  PLEA  FOR  GAELIC. 


Engilub 

dog 
bitch 


ram 


bull 


to  eat 
tooth 

BOlll 


death 


night 
thou 
he .   . 


she 


which 


Sanskrit 

sVan 

sunah*   . 
Urana  


ukshan 


ad .  . 
Danta 
àtman 


mara 


nitì'à 

yu8hmad 
Sa 


Sa- 
ka? 


Phonetic  Gaelic. 
shiunAch    . 


KngHlsh, 


re  .     .  . 

re  .     .  . 

ro  .    .  . 
ree     • 

ooAn .  . 

caora .  . 

ooksa.  . 

aog    .  . 

eecD  .  . 

djeud .  . 

AnAm  . 

An  Ail  . 

mArAv  . 

bAs    .  . 

n' niche  . 

oosa  .  . 

she     .  . 

esAn  .  . 

shee  .  . 

eeshe .  . 

ko?    .  . 


fox 


ram 

the  moon 

a  circle 

king 

lamb 

sheep 

a  large  fish 

a  hind 

eat 

tooth 

soul 

breath 

dead,  kin 

death 

the  night 

thee 

it  is  be 

him 

It  is  she 

her 

who,  which? 


The  numeral  1  is  u» — like  "  nn"  (Fr.)  "  one."  The  numeral  5 
coig,  I  cannot  trace  in  Panchan,  though  it  has  a  resemblance  to 
cinq  and  quinque,  which  are  traced  in  Sanskrit  by  experts,  but  2, 
3,  4,  6,  8,  9,  10  resemble  the  Sanskrit  numerals.  The  formation 
of  higher  numbers  up  to  20  is  on  the  same  principle — one  ten, 
four  ten,  etc.  Thence  the  Gaelic  counts  by  20  and  the  Sanskrit 
by  10.  The  Gaelic  says  ten  and  two  twenties,  or  half  a  hun- 
dred— the  Sanskrit  says  five  tens. 

Any  Gaelic  scholar  may  extend  this  list  by  a  reference  to 
books  on  philology,  but  Gaelic  ought  most  to  resemble  the 
oldest  known  Aryan  speech,  if  it  be  one  of  the  oldest  survivors  of 
the  Aryan  family.  There  is  a  likeness,  but  many  surviving 
European  languages  are  much  nearer  to  Sanskrit. 


*  Pritchard,  p.  210. 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  3  5  I 

A  vast  number  of  places  out  of  the  Highlands  still 
retain  their  Gaelic  names/  and  it  is  interesting  to 
understand  them ;  for  example,  Tintock  is  the  highest 
mountain  in  Lanarkshire  ;  and  the  name  has  a  mean- 
ing in  Gaelic,  "  The  house  of  the  mist"  (Tigh  n'  to-ag); 
and  a  local  rhyme  shews  that  to  be  the  true  meaning 
of  the  name,  which  has  no  English  meaning. 

On  Tintock  tap  there  is  a  mist, 
And  in  the  mist  there  is  a  kist, 
And  in  the  kist  there  is  a  cup, 
And  in  the  cup  there  is  a  drap  ; 
Tak  up  the  cup  and  drink  the  drap, 
And  set  the  cup  on  Tintock  tap. 

There  was  a  popular  tale  about  this  mountain  which 
I  have  failed  to  get;  but  a  cup,  with  some  myste- 
rious drink,  is  common  in  Celtic  traditions.  There 
are  cups  taken  from  the  fairies;  cups  from  which  all 
sorts  of  drinks  came;  the  cup  of  Fionn  which 
healed  diseases  ;  the  great  caldron  of  the  Feinne,  which 
is  hidden  somewhere  ;  the  kettle  of  the  "  Korrigan  "  of 
Brittany ;  the  St.  Graal  of  mediaeval  romance,  for 
which  there  is  no  Scriptural  authority ;  and  the 
Ballan  iochshlaint,  or  vessel  of  balsam.  And  when 
we  get  back  to  Sanscrit  mythology,  a  chief  object  of 
worship  was  a  drink,  the  juice  of  a  plant,  the  "  soma," 
to  which  all  sorts  of  virtues  are  attributed  in  the 
Vedas. 

So  lowland  mythology  is  explained  by  Gaelic,  and 
so  is  lowland  topography.  "  Craignethan"  Castle  has 
no  meaning ;  but  a  similar  Gaelic  sound  means  the 


35* 


A  PLEA  FOB  GAELIC. 


crag  of  the  rivulet,  and  correctly  describes  the  site  of 
the  ruin  of  Scott's  castle  of  "  Tullietudlem,"  in  Lan- 
arkshire. 

Cam,  in  Cambridge,  means  the  crooked,  which  is 
a  correct  description  of  the  river  Cam ;  Bournmouth 
means  Watermouth,  and  is  situated  at  the  mouth  of  a 
"burn"  or  rivulet;  Bannokburn  means  Cakewater  in 
Gaelic.  Jn  short,  no  history  of  the  English  language 
is  complete  without  its  Celtic  first  chapter ;  and  no 
one  has  yet  tried  to  write  the  Scotch  Gaelic  part  of  it. 

Modern  English  is  certainly  more  Teutonic  than 
Celtic,  but  it  is  full  of  Gaelic  words,  and  they  are 
creeping  in  stilL 


Here  are  a  few  words,  chiefly  written  down  as  they  occurred 
in  translating,  and  which  seem  to  be  common  to  Gaelic  and 
English.    Any  dictionary  will  give  many  more. 

GAELIC  and  ENGLISH. 


Tuig  (understand) 

Twig  (modern  slang). 

Gillie  (lad)       . 

Gilly  (sportsman's  ditto) 

Failaire 

Palfrey. 

Steud 

Steed. 

Claidheamh 

Glaive 

Saighdear 

Soldier. 

Sgath-dubh 

Shadow. 

Mireadh  (playing) 

Merry. 

Monadh 

Mountain  moor  (mons). 

Muir  (sea) 

Meer. 

Bourn  (water) 

Burn    \ 

Loch    . 
Srath   . 

Loch     f        ,              , 
Strath  >  m0dern  WOrd8' 

Gleann 

Glen     ) 

Dail      . 

Dale. 

Geil      . 

Gill,  a  field. 

Maracadh 

Market. 

Sraid  (a  walk) 

Street. 

WEST  HIGHLAND  ST0R1E& 


353 


Rathad-Mor     . 

Boad. 

Bata    . 

Boat. 

Sgoth  . 

Scow  or  Skiff. 

Seol     . 

Sail. 

Ropa    . 

Rope. 

Port     . 

Port. 

Lin  (lint) 

Line. 

Streng 

String. 

Bocsa 

Box. 

Bogha 

Bow. 

Sgiath  (a  wing) 

Shield. 

Casadh 

Gnashing. 

Teanga 

Tongue. 

Sron  (nose) 

Snort,  snore. 

SUp      . 

Lip. 

Ameasg 

Amongst. 

Ruaig 

Rout. 

Corp  (tbe  body) 

Corpse  (corpus). 

Cinne  . 

Kin. 

Cal       . 

Kail. 

Boglaichean     . 

Bogs. 

Bog     . 

Soft. 

Sgor    . 

Scaur. 

Creag  . 

Crag. 

Solas  (joy) 

Solace. 

Cuist! 

Hist!  whist. 

Paillion 

Pavilion. 

Feachd  (battle  array) 

Fight. 

Sac 

Sack. 

Bansaich 

Ransack. 

Roimhe-'n-sao 

Through  the  sack. 

Onair  . 

Honour. 

Sliom  (smooth) 

Slime. 

Measan  (lap  dog) 

Mesan. 

Cart  (to  clear  a  byre) 

Cart. 

Stoirm  (great  noise) 

Storm. 

Halla   . 

Hall. 

Bard    • 

Bard. 

Catbair  (seat,  city) 

Chester  (cast rum). 

Dun  (heap,  fort) 

London.    Dunstable. 

VOL.  IV.                                 2 

A 

354  A  PULL  FOR  GAELIC. 


Pairce 

Park. 

Tùr  (a  journey) 

Tour. 

Tùr      . 

A  tower. 

Bid-eag 

A  little  bit 

Braghaid 

Brisket. 

DrAchk  (Phonetic) 

Drake. 

Dregan 

Dragon. 

Gànra 

Gander. 

All  Gaelic  words  ending  in  ear,  which  mean  a  male  individual 
who  does  something,  embody  the  Gaelic  word  fear  (a  man,  or  a 
male  unit),  which  word,  when  combined  with  another,  is  spelt 
/hear,  and  pronounced  as  A*  or  i//>,  if  a  sheep's  note  is  properly 
spelt  HV'    Thus, 

Muilleor  •  .  Miller, 

is  a  contraction  for 

Mullinn  /hear  .  Millman. 

Saigh-dear       .  Soldier. 

Saighead  /hear  .  Sagittarius. 

The  Latin  word  thus  seems  to  be  founded  upon  /hear  rather 
than  Virf  though  vir  is  supposed  to  come  from  the  Sanscrit  "Vìra ; 
but  of  the  Aryan  languages  (so  far  as  I  know)  Gaelic  alone 
explains  how  the  V  was  lost,  for  Gaelic  inflections  are  often 
made  at  the  beginning  of  words. 

Supposing  that  the  word  for  an  archer  to  be  a  remnant  of  the 
old  Keltic  of  Italy,  preserved  in  Latin,  Sagittarius  is  made  up  of 

Saighead  -  f  hear  -  his, 
Arrow     -  man  (with  a  termination.) 
And  if  the  g  had  the  value  which  it  has  in  many  languages,  the 
sounds  would  be  almost  identical  in  Latin  and  Gaelic. 

If  this  be  right,  the  termination  er,  and  the  (now)  Gaelic  word 
fhear,  appear  in  most  of  the  Aryan  languages  of  Europe, — 
Eng.,  Baker ;  Gaelic,  Fuineadair ;  German,  Backer ;  French, 
Boulanger ;  Norse,  Bager ;  Spanish,  Panadero ;  Italian,  Fornaro ; 
Swedish,  Bagare ;  Latin,  Pistor :  but  Greek  àproiroiòs  will  not 
do,  though  the  words  an  fhear,  the  man,  reappear  in  àrrip,  a 
man-  and  aran,  bread,  in  diros. 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  35  J 

It  nowhere  appears  in  Lapp,  for  olmush  is  the  equivalent  of 
Fear,  a  man,  and  laibbo  is  a  baker,  though  hepwh,  a  horse,  is 
like  inroj. 

Now,  any  English  tradesman  may  he  named  hy  adding  er  to 
the  proper  words,  as  trader,  railway-engine-boiler-riveter.  Any 
Gaelic  tradesman  may  also  he  named,  in  like  manner,  hy  adding 
/hear,  or  ear,  or  air,  to  other  words ;  hut  neither  in  Gaelic  nor  in 
English  will  these  terminations  properly  apply  to  a  trades-woman. 
In  English  the  proper  addition  is  seamstress,  in  French  it  is  erne 
— and  here  again  is  Gaelic — Ise  is  the  equivalent  of  she,  and 
esan  of  he,  and  aiche  is  the  termination  which  is  common  to 
both  genders,  as— 

Ban-flraaghl-atcAe,  a  female  se&mstress, 

but  in  English  there  are  two  ways  of  forming  such  words.  We 
say  horse  man,  horse  woman;  but  if  we  say  rider,  we  must  add 
another  word  to  express  a  female  rider;  so  the  termination  er,  if 
Keltic,  is  equivalent  to  man  in  horse  man,  which  is  Teutonic. 

Any  one  who  knows  Gaelic  can  easily  put  a  meaning  on  num- 
bers of  Italian  names.  For  example,  "  Monte,  Soracte,"  Monadh, 
Sorachan  (mountain,  peak  or  hillock),  is  a  small  peaked  mountain 
standing  alone  near  Borne.  "  Monte  Appennino,"  Monadh  na 
Beinne  (the  mountain  tract  of  the  hill  country),  is  at  least  as  de- 
scriptive in  Gaelic  as  Italian,  and  the  sounds  are  very  like  still. 

In  like  manner,  the  connection  between  Gaelic  and  any  one 
of  a  large  class  of  European  languages,  can  he  shewn,  hut  it  has 
no  apparent  relationship  to  Lapp.  Hence,  Gaelic  is  useful  to  a 
Sanscrit  scholar,  and  necessary  to  the  full  development  of  any 
system  which  treats  of  the  Aryan  family  of  races  and  languages ; 
and  it  is  a  very  useful  accomplishment  for  any  student  of  the 
Eastern  languages,  which  pave  the  way  to  promotion  in  India. 
It  is  also  useful  to  a  classical  student  who  wants  to  go  deep  into 
Greek  and  Latin. 

No  Frenchman  can  fully  understand  the  origin  of  his  own 
language  without  knowing  Gaelic,  for  French  is  still  full  of  words, 


356  A  PLEA  FOE  GAELIC. 

and  especially  sounds,  which  seem  to  be  Gaelic.    If  French  be 
Latin,  it  is  Latin  spoken  with  a  Celtic  brogue. 

Do  blè,  corn,  and  bleth,  to  grind,  are  pronounced  in  the  same 
way.  French  sentences,  which  to  the  best-taught  English  tongues, 
are  as  hard  as  this  and  thai,  and  the  other  tAing,  to  a  Frenchman, 
are  easily  pronounced  by  a  Highlander.  On  dit,  qu'un  bon  garcon 
gagnait  cinq  cent,  cinquante  cinq  ecus,  and  such  sounds,  present 
little  difficulty  to  a  Gaelic  peasant ;  and  there  are  Polish  and 
Russian  and  Welsh  liquids  of  which  the  same  is  true.  JEVtZZ, 
holes  full  of  mud,  has  the  same  sound  as  the  Russian  for  dust, 
and  the  French  Mouillè,  wet,  which  are  sore  puzzles  for  a  Saxon, 
but  easy  for  a  Celt.  Ecda  gheal,  a  white  swan,  contains  a  Polish 
liquid  sound,  which  a  Polish  lady  assured  me  she  had  never 
heard  mastered  by  a  foreigner,  yet  it  is  one  of  the  commonest 
sounds  in  Gaelic.  So  Gaelic  is  of  the  greatest  use  in  learning  to 
speak  and  pronounce  other  languages. 

He  who  can  utter  the  following  sentence  must  have  a  nimble 
tongue  for  liquids — 

"  Laogh  na  laidhe  an  an  lag  an  lochain  air  la  luain  *b  ag  òl 
leann  ladir  a  ladar." 

In  the  specimen  of  <(  old  Saxon,"  given  by  Latham  (page  46, 
Handbook  of  the  English  Language),  a  few  words  which  resemble 
Gaelic  can  be  traced. 

Ehu8ca.\coB  (horsegrooms)  .  Eich  (horses). 

Ueros  (men)       .        .        .  Fear  (a  man). 

Fehas  (cattle)    .        .        .  Feidh  (deer). 

UuarMco    ....  Fior  (true). 

Cadean  ("  show  "  strength)  Dean  (do.) 

Cunneas  (races) .        .         .  Cinne  (kindred). 


Firiho  (of  men)  . 
Rikiost  (noblest) 
Kind  (child)       . 
Louodun  (praised) 
Rikea  (kingdom) 


Fir  (men). 

Righail  (kingly). 

Gin  (to  beget). 

Laoidh  (to  laud.     A  hymn). 

Rioghachd  (realm). 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  357 

Spoken  Gaelic  has  altered  very  little  in  the  course  of  the  last 
three  centuries  in  the  islands. 

Dean  Monro's  statistical  account  of  the  Western  Islands  was 
written  in  Scotch,  1549,  and  the  names  are  spelt  phonetically. 
The  names  of  the  islands  and  families,  as  now  pronounced,  could 
hardly  he  hotter  expressed  for  English  ears.  "  Skibness  ;  Elian  Ew ; 
Lochebrune ;  M'Enzie ;  the  haley  isles  of  Flanayn ;  Elian  Vic 
Couil,  perteining  to  M'Cloyd ; "  and  some  hundreds  of  names  are  so 
spelt  as  to  express  their  present  value.  Icelandic,  which  has  also 
been  shut  up  in  islands,  has  altered  but  little  for  many  centuries. 

To  me  it  appears  that  a  living  language  of  this 
kind,  which  certainly  is  a  dialect  of  "  Keltic/'  which  was 
spoken  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  in  the  days  of 
Caesar,  and  was  also  spoken  in  all  the  outlying  corners 
of  Europe,  in  Spain,  and  Portugal,  France,  Jutland, 
in  Italy,  Greece,  and  Asia  Minor,  and  which  is  now 
spoken  by  settlers  in  America,  and  Australia,  and 
India,  is  an  interesting  study. 

It  is  peculiarly  interesting,  for  the  same  reason 
that  a  great  auk's  egg  is  now  worth  a  large  sum. 
Gaelic,  like  the  great  auk,  will  soon  have  ceased  to 
exist,  and  the  process  by  which  it  is  extinguished  may 
serve  to  explain  the  extinction  of  languages  elsewhere. 

Its  very  corruptions  are  lessons  in  the  science  of 
language.  The  manner  in  which  a  new  word  is  altered, 
when  it  is  received  into  common  use,  is  a  practical 
lesson,  which  holds  good  for  all  human  speech,  and 
serves  to  test  the  rules  laid  down  for  phonetic  changes. 

The  inflections  at  the  beginning  of  words,  which 
are  an  essential  part  of  spoken  Gaelic,  seem  to  be  espe- 
cially worthy  of  attention  for  their  singularity.  There 
is  no  good  reason  to  suppose  that  "  Gaelic,"  "  Welsh," 


358  A  PLEA  FOB  GAELIC. 

or  "  Dutch,"  was  the  "  language  of  Paradise ;"  but  there 
is  no  reason  why  Gaelic  should  not  contain  remnants  of 
some  form  of  speech  older  than  Sanscrit,  and  this  may 
be  one  example.  But  my  wish  is  to  call  attention  to 
this  subject,  not  to  pronounce  opinions  on  questions 
which  require  hard  study,  and  knowledge  which  I  do 
not  yet  possess. 

In  the  Highlands  generally,  I  find  the  language 
rapidly  mixing  with  English ;  and  striking  illustrations 
of  the  changes  which  take  place  in  human  speech, 
phonetic  and  grammatical,  meet  me  at  every  step ;  but 
they  are  all  changes  which  tend  to  decay.  I  find  that 
lectures  are  delivered  to  Sunday-school  children  to  prove 
that  Gaelic  is  part  of  a  divine  curse;  and  Highland  pro- 
prietors tell  me  that  it  is  "a  bar  to  the  advancement 
of  the  people." 

Let  me  endeavour  to  shew  that  Gaelic  is  good  for 
something  more ;  it  has  been  shewn  above  that  it  is 
good  for  something. 

First,  English  is  a  "  bar  to  the  advancement"  of  pro- 
prietors, if  they  cannot  speak  to  those  who  pay  their 
rents  ;  and  it  is  the  want  of  English,  not  the  possession 
of  Gaelic,  which  retards  the  advance  of  those  who  seek 
employment  where  English  is  spoken.  So  Highland 
proprietors  should  learn  Gaelic  and  teach  English. 

Gaelic  is  no  bar  to  advancement.  It  did  not  clog 
the  steps  of  the  Lord  Justice-General,  or  his  brother 
the  Ambassador,  or  of  the  Vice-Chancellor,  or  of  dozens 
of  other  men  of  mark,  whose  learning  included  Gaelic. 
It  has  not  weighed  in  my  slower  race  through  life ; 
and  it  gave  me  a  stock  of  sounds  which  occur  in  other 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  359 

languages,  and  which  an  English  tongue  can  rarely 
pronounce.  It  is  worth  learning,  if  only  to  see  the 
pleasure  which  shines  like  sun-light  through  a  clouded 
Highland  face,  when  Gaelic  is  unexpectedly  heard. 

Some  time  ago  I  was  walking  along  a  lowland  road, 
dressed  in  the  genteel  chimney  pot,  and  broad  cloth  of 
this  age,  and  as  I  went,  the  sound  of  a  plaintive  Gaelic 
song  caught  my  ear.  It  came  from  a  bevy  of  girls  who 
were  working  in  a  field  by  the  road-side,  and  singing 
a  lamentable  love  song  over  their  work.  So  I  called 
out  over  the  hedge,  "  S'  math  sibh  fhein  a  ghaladan," 
"  well  done  girls."  The  whole  field  was  in  a  pleased 
commotion  directly,  for  these  were  people  from  Skye; 
and  we  were  friends  on  the  instant,  by  virtue  of  a 
cabalistic  word  of  our  common  language,  and  so  it  has 
been  in  thousands  of  cases. 

Gaelic  is  the  key  to  a  Highlander's  heart ;  and  pro- 
prietors and  utilitarians  should  learn  it  before  they 
condemn  it  They  would  not  so  easily  part  with  their 
people  if  they  knew  them,  and  could  talk  with  them. 

If  Irish  proprietors  would  try  to  speak  Gaelic  to 
their  people  they  would  be  better  liked.  Officers  who 
speak  Gaelic  to  Highland  soldiers  command  their  affec- 
tion. If  officers  in  Highland  regiments  would  try  more, 
they  would  have  more  recruits. 

Without  printed  Gaelic  I  feel  sure  that  I  should  now 
be  enjoying  the  blame  of  another  MacPherson.  I  submit 
to  my  adverse  critics  that  they  would  not  have  believed 
in  Gaelic  stories  without  the  originals,  and  that  Gaelic 
as  now  spoken  in  various  districts  was  something  worth 
preservation,  for  they  will  find  it  nowhere  else. 


360  A  PLEA  FOB  GAELIC. 

Let  those  who  say  that  there  is  no  Gaelic  litera- 
ture read  Professor  O'Corry's  Lectures,  and  they  will 
there  find  that  the  best  scholars  only  distinguish  be- 
tween Scotch  and  Irish  Gaelic  as  between  dialects  of  the 
same  tongue,  and  that  there  is  a  mass  of  unexplored 
Gaelic  literature  still  extant.  There  are  two  Professors, 
one  at  the  New  Catholic  University;  a  Government 
Commission  is  employed  about  "  the  Brehon  laws/'  as 
they  are  called,  and  a  Gaelic  MS.  about  "  Danish  inva- 
sions/' forms  one  of  the  historical  series  published  under 
the  authority  of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  All  sorts  of 
questions  are  sure  to  arise  as  these  documents  are  brought 
to  light  and  read ;  and  without  Gaelic  no  scholar  can 
give  an  opinion  on  them.  Questions  relative  to  early 
Christianity  may  turn  on  words  in  Gaelic  manuscripts, 
and  who  is  to  say  what  may  be  found  in  such  an  un- 
explored field?  Old  Irish  prophecies  have  actually 
been  spread  amongst  the  peasantry  for  political  pur- 
poses. If  it  was  important  for  the  interests  of 
the  State  to  found  a  chair  of  Sanscrit,  which  nobody 
speaks,  surely  there  ought  to  be  some  means  of  learning 
Gaelic  devised  for  England,  where  a  large  section  of 
the  people  speak  the  language  still.  Surely  the  few 
relics  of  Scotch  Gaelic  literature  which  remain  are 
worthy  of  more  attention.  Till  rescued  from  oblivion, 
and  placed  in  safety  by  the  patriotic  exertions  of  Mr. 
Skene,  their  very  existence  had  been  forgotten,  and 
some  valuable  MSS.,  the  property  of  the  Highland 
Society,  have  disappeared  within  the  last  sixty  years. 
It  is  surely  a  mistake  to  say  that  there  is  no  lite- 
rature in  a  language,  and  to  set  about  proving  it  to 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  36 1 

be  true  by  allowing  the  little  which  remains  to  be 
destroyed. 

Without  a  common  language  men  misunderstand 
each  other,  and  those  who  are  employed  in  a  country 
should  be  able  to  talk  to  its  people.  It  is  a  rule  of  the 
Danish  Government  that  no  official  shall  hold  office  in 
Iceland  unless  he  speaks  both  Danish  and  Icelandic,  and 
the  rule  is  good.  A  philanthropist  who  cannot  speak 
to  the  people,  and  judges  from  what  he  sees,  must  de- 
scribe the  poor  of  the  west  as  living  in  squalid  hovels, 
amidst  peat-reek ;  silent,  and  dull ;  for  they  cannot 
speak  to  him,  and  they  are  very  poor,  and  they  are  awed 
into  silence  by  the  broad-cloth,  and  black  hat,  and  gold 
watch  and  chain  of  a  government  gentleman  who 
suffers  from  peat-reek.  A  few  specimens  of  those  most 
mysterious  of  beings,  which  are  found  in  all  classes, 
men  without  reason,  may  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  rest  are  but  idiots  of  a  higher  grade;  but  one  who 
understands  Gaelic  may  learn  a  lesson  beneath  these 
lowly  roofs.  He  may  hear  the  story  of  Cinderella,  and 
of  the  black  rough-skinned  herd;  and  the  "idiots," 
who  all  rose  to  be  princes,  and  the  song  of  the  mighty 
fool  who  did  his  duty  manfully  and  succeeded.  He 
may  look  about  him  and  find  that  very  many  historical 
names  have  in  fact  sprung  from  a  cottage,  and  from 
such  cottages;  and  if  these  are  turf  heaps  over  which 
a  man  can  walk,  he  may  be  reminded  that  without 
Gaelic  he  can  know  as  little  of  the  better  part  of  those 
who  inhabit  them,  as  Gray  knew  of  the  minds  of  those 
who  mouldered  beneath  the  mouldering  heaps  of  a 
country  churchyard.     The  Begistrar-General  and  the 


3«> 


A  FLKA  FOB  GARLIO. 


clergyman  will  prove  that 
those  who  live  in  direct 
contravention  of  all  the 
"rules  of  sanitary  science" 
and  "common  decency,'' 
because  they  are  too  poor 
to  lire  otherwise,  are  at 
least  as  long  lived,  chaste, 
and  religions  as  any  class 
of  Her  Majesty's  poor. 
Those  who  live  in  Buch 
houses  claim  their  descent 
from,  and  trace  it  to  the 
warriors  buried  under 
stones,  some  of  which  are 
figured  above,  and  many 
of  them  are  as  proud  of 
their  ancestry  as  the  Ice- 
landers, some  of  whom 
claim  to  be  related  to  the 
Queen  of  England,  and 
live  in  similar  huts.  When 
they  go  elsewhere  their 
strongest  desire  is  to  re- 
turn ;  their  bodies  are  often 
carried  "home"  when  they 
die,  far  away ;  and  history 
will  shew  that  many  a  dis- 
l  began  life 
black  house,  and  there 
stories,    and 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES. 


to  bettor  lessons  first  heard 
in  Gaelic. 

I  have  said  this  much, 
hecause  there  is  a  vague 
idea  in  English-speaking 
society  that  a  Celt  is  an 
inferior  animal,  and  that 
is  a  "  vulgar  error."  An 
Englishman,  say  what  he 
will,  has  a  large  cross  of 
the  Celt  in  his  composi- 
tion, as  the  shape  of  bis 
head  proclaims.  Many 
Lowlanders  and  the  people 
of  the  midland  counties 
of  England  are  "  Celts," 
and  a  Frenchman  is  not 
inferior  to  an  Englishman 
in  most  things.  The  purest 
specimens  of  Scandinavian 
blood  are  to  be  found  in 
Iceland,  and  there  are  no 
signs  of  superiority  of  race 
there;  on  the  contrary, 
there  is  a  strong  resem- 
blance to  the  people  of  the 
West  Highlands,  and  to 
many  of  their  peculiarities 
of  temper  and  manner.  I 
doubt  if  even  the  country 
whence  the  Anglo-Saxons *»m«»-*Mj"^aiwm**. 

Neither  of  these  cats  do  Jnitlce  to  the  design  on  the  stones. 


364  A  PLEA  FOB  GAELIC. 

came,  can  now  shew  any  superiority  oyer  the  countries 
where  Celt  and  Saxon,  and  good  feeding,  have  pro- 
duced a  good  cross.  In  Norway,  Iceland,  France,  Ger- 
many, and  Italy,  a  man  of  five  feet  ten  inches  feels 
himself  above  the  average  size.  He  is  below  the 
average  size  of  "West  Highland  gentlemen.  Whole 
families  of  men  above  six  feet  high  could  be  named. 
I  know  a  Highlander,  who  is  a  little  over  six  feet,  and 
measures  fifty-six  inches  round  the  chest,  and  who  in 
his  youth  was  "  as  strong  as  a  bull"  A  London  draw- 
ing-room is  the  only  place  in  Europe  where  a  race  of 
men  better  grown  than  West  Highland  gentlemen  is 
to  be  met.  Having  associated  with  peasants  in  every 
country  which  I  have  visited,  mixing  with  all  classes 
on  equal  terms,  so  far  as  I  could,  I  have  arrived  at 
the  conclusion  that  a  Celt  is  an  average  human  animal, 
equal  mentally  and  physically  to  any  other  species  of 
the  genus  homo  similarly  placed.  Much  the  same  can 
be  said  of  Lapps,  though  they  are  a  small  race,  and 
I  am  no  believer  in  the  natural  superiority  of  any  one 
race  over  another,.  It  seems  to  be  in  the  nature  of 
races  to  dislike  and  despise  each  other,  and  I  would 
willingly  "  speak  up"  for  the  minority,  who  cannot 
speak  for  themselves,  "having  no  English,"  and  who 
are  apt  quietly  to  despise  the  Saxon  fully  as  much 
as  he  despises  them.  Both  are  wrong,  as  much  and 
as  surely  as  the  members  and  the  stomach  erred  when 
they  fell  out.  The  one  cannot  suffer  but  the  other 
must  ache. 


WEST  HIOHLÀND  STORIES. 


nts.  From  «.  rongh  sketch  taken  from  8  picture  at  Tay- 
»  be  a  portrait  of  *'  The  Begent  Mnnay."  The  aims  are : 
jwder  bom,  dirk,  and  (woi& 


Dress  hardly  belongs  to  my  subject,  but  those  who 
deny  the  existence  of  Gaelic  poems,  and  affect  to  des- 
pise Celts,  often  assert  that  the  Highland  dress  is  of 
modern  invention.  I  have  so  often  heard  this  gravely 
maintained,  that  it  may  be  as  well  to  give  some  reasons 
for  a  different  opinion,  and  quote  some  authorities  for 
the  antiquity  of  the  "  Garb  of  old  GauL" 


366  CELTIC  DRESS. 

The  patterns  of  tartan  are  produced  by  crossing  and 
twisting  threads  of  various  colours.  It  is  easy  to  dye 
hanks  of  yarn  of  single  colours,  and  the  simplest  ar- 
rangement of  coloured  threads  is  to  cross  them ;  conse- 
quently the  first  effort  to  produce  a  pattern  by  the 
weavers'  art,  generally  results  in  squares  and  bars 
something  like  Scotch  tartan.  The  South  Sea  Islanders, 
who  wear  home-made  woven  cloths,  either  colour  them 
by  painting  patterns  on  them,  or  by  crossing  coloured 
fibres.  The  bands  woven  by  the  Lapps  on  their  small 
hand  looms  have  similar  patterns;  their  coloured 
baskets  are  woven  into  squares,  and  the  early  weaving 
and  basket-making  of  all  nations  have  a  general 
resemblance. 

But  each  savage  tribe  has  some  peculiarity  in  its 
patterns  which  distinguish  them  from  others,  and  the 
manufactures  of  savage  and  civilized  communities  are 
alike  marked  by  the  development  of  some  original 
design,  which  must  have  been  the  invention  of  some- 
body. 

The  idea  of  ornamenting  woven  fabrics  with  stripes 
of  various  colours,  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles, 
and  blending  where  they  cross,  would  result  from  the 
simplest  arrangement  of  coloured  fibres  that  could  be 
devised,  and  was  probably  the  invention  of  the  first 
maker  of  mats,  but  in  Scotland  that  idea  has  produced 
an  enormous  number  of  "tartans."  Every  year  pro- 
duces a  new  crop,  but  nevertheless  there  are  a  number  of 
old  "  sets  "  which  are  of  unknown  antiquity,  and  these 
being  made  in  particular  glens  or  islands,  came  to  be  the 
distinctive  uniform  of  the  families  or  "clans"  who 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  367 

lived  in  the  glens,  and  who  earned  on  the  manufacture 
of  tartan,  spinning  on  distaffs,  and  weaving  in  hand- 
looms  at  home. 

The  Irish,  the  Germans,  the  Celts,  and  many  ancient 
nations,  wore  striped  garments. 

From  the  lives  of  the  saints,  it  appears  that  in  the 
seventh  and  eighth  centuries  Scotchmen  used  cloaks  of 
variegated  colours,  and  fine  linen,  used  chariots,  and 
made  swords  and  other  weapons,  had  glass  drinking 
vessels,  leather  boats  for  the  rivers,  and  oaken  gallies 
for  the  sea. — (Scotland  in  the  Middle  Ages,  227.) 

The  oldest  tartan  "  sets "  ought  to  be  those  which 
can  be  made  from  native  dyes,  and  this  test  will  weed 
out  a  considerable  number  which  profess  to  be  "  Clan 
tartans."  The  art  of  dyeing  is  attributed  to  the  Tyrians, 
and  it  is  asserted  that  they  visited  the  British  Isles. 
There  are  fish  which  produce  a  dye  on  the  British 
coasts,  but  the  inhabitants  do  not  use  them,  so  far  as 
I  know.  Neither  "  Tyrian  purple  "  nor  "  ssepia "  are 
amongst  Highland  dyes ;  but  the  ancient  Britons  knew 
of  a  blue  dye,  the  Irish  knew  many,  and  old  wives  still 
colour  worsteds  of  their  own  spinning  with  plants  that 
grow  on  their  own  Scotch  hills. 

With  the  root  of  the  bent  they  make  a  sort  of  red. 

With  "màder"  they  dye  blue  and  purple.  With 
some  other  root,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten,  I  have 
seen  thread  coloured  yellow  by  boiling  it  in  a  pan,  and 
thus  the  Highlanders  still  produce  the  three  primitive 
colours  from  native  dyes.  Wool  and  goafs  hair  give 
black  and  white. 

Green  they  produce  with  heather,  and  a  very  rich 


368  CELTIC  DRESS. 

brown  of  various  shades  from  yellow  to  black  with  a 
species  of  lichen  which  grows  on  trees  and  rocks,  and 
is  called  "  crotaL" 

The  art  is  now  giving  way  to  improved  manufac- 
tures, and  there  is  often  a  kind  of  mystery  about  it. 
Some  old  woman  is  quoted  as  the  authority,  who  knows 
a  particular  old  Highland  dye,  and  there  is  every  indi- 
cation of  an  old  traditional  art  not  quite  forgotten. 

Tartans,  therefore,  especially  some  sets,  ought  to  be 
old.  If  not  as  old  as  the  seventh  century,  they  are  at  least 
as  old  as  1603,  according  to  the  author  of  "Certayn 
Mattere  concerning  Scotland,"  who  says,  "they  de- 
light in  marbled  cloths,  especially  that  have  stripes  of 
sundrie  colours ;  they  love  chiefly  purple  and  blue ; 
their  predecessors  used  short  mantles  or  plaids  of 
divers  colours,  sundrie  ways  divided,  and  among 
some  the  same  custom  is  observed  to  this  day,  but 
for  the  most  part  they  are  brown,  most  near  to  the 
colour  of  the  hadder,  to  the  effect,  when  they  lie  among 
the  hadders,  the  bright  colour  of  their  plaids  shall  not 
bewray  them ;  with  which,  rather  coloured  than  clad, 
they  suffer  the  most  cruel  tempests  that  blow  in  the 
open  fields,  in  such  sort,  that  in  a  night  of  snow  they 
sleep  sound. " 

Tartan  was  worn  during  the  thirty  years'  war,  and 
the  Germans  thus  described  the  wearers  : — 

In  such  dresses  go  the  800  Irrlander,  or  Irren, 
newly  arrived  at  Stettin,  a.d.  1631. 

"  This  is  a  strong  hardy  people,  content  with  common 
fare ;  if  they  have  no  bread  they  eat  roots,  when  need  re- 
quires it.    They  can  run  more  than  twenty  German  miles 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  369 

in  a  day ;  they  have  by  them  muskets,  their  bows  and 
quivers,  and  long  knives." 

There  are  plenty  of  bits  of  old  tartan  preserved  in 
Scotland.  There  are  pictures  at  Dunrobin,  at  Tay- 
mouth,  at  Armidale,  at  Holyrood  and  elsewhere,  all  of 
which  prove  that  tartan  was  anciently  worn,  and  that 
particular  patterns  were  worn  in  certain  districts. 

Dr.  Johnson  and  Boswell  saw  men  dressed  in  plaids 
and  tartans  when  they  made  their  tour  in  1773,  and 
whence  the  notion  sprang  that  the  Highland  dress  is  a 
modern  invention  I  cannot  imagine,  unless"  it  is  the  off- 
spring of  the  same  spirit  which  passed  an  Act  of 
Parliament  to  forbid  the  dress. 

The  form  of  the  dress  is  undeniably  old.  A 
sculptured  stone  was  dug  up  some  years  ago  at  St 
Andrews,  in  a  position  which  proves  its  great  antiquity; 
and  General  Stewart's  description  of  the  dress  of  1740 
applies  as  well  to  the  figure,  probably  sculptured  long 
before  St.  Andrew's  Cathedral  was  built,  as  it  does  to 
pictures  at  Taymouth,  and  prints  of  1631. 

Copies  of  some  of  the  figures  on  the  St  Andrews 
stone  are  at  pages  38  and  390.  I  have  endeavoured  to 
trace  every  fold,  and  those  who  would  look  at  the  sculp- 
tured figures  will  find  a  cast  in  the  Antiquarian  Museum 
at  Edinburgh.  The  whole  design  is  given  in  Wilson's 
Prehistoric  Annals  of  Scotland,  and  in  "  the  Sculptured 
Stones  of  Scotland."  The  style  of  ornament  is  exactly 
that  of  old  Gaelic  crosses  and  manuscripts,  and  that 
is  pronounced  by  good  judges  to  be  "British"  or 
"Celtic;"  but  the  general  look  of  the  sculpture  re- 
minds me  strongly  of  similar  Boman  stone  chests  of 

VOL.  IV.  2  B 


370  CELTIC  DRE88. 

the  time  of  the  Lower  Empire.  It  was  found  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  St.  Andrew's  Cathedral,  which 
was  founded  by  Malcolm  IV.  a.d.  1159,  consecrated 
1318,  and  destroyed  after  a  sermon  by  Knox  in  1560. 
The  position  in  which  the  stone  was  found  indicates 
that  it  was  far  older  than  the  Cathedral ;  and  as  there 
are  no  Christian  symbols  on  it,  I  suspect  that  the 
sculptor  must  have  studied  art  from  some  Eoman  mas- 
ter, though  he  studied  design  and  nature  at  home. 

Apes  and  lions  never  frequented  the  forests  of 
Caledonia,  and  these  indicate  some  knowledge  of  foreign 
ways  or  of  foreign  design,  unless  the  Eomans  exhibited 
such  creatures  in  Britain,  and  the  artist  saw  them  there. 
Wolves,  foxes,  dogs,  and  deer,  were  clearly  familiar  to 
the  sculptor,  for  they  are  well  done.  The  men  were 
probably  copied  from  familiar  models,  and  one  of  them 
(page  38)  is  dressed  in  a  belted  plaid,  and  armed  with 
a  leaf-headed  spear.  Another  wears  a  leaf- shaped 
sword,  and  such  weapons  are  referred  to  a  very  ancient 
period  by  the  best  lowland  authorities.  A  third  is 
figured  page  390,  and  he  also  wears  a  belted  plaid. 

The  picture  from  which  the  woodcut  on  page  365 
was  tal$n,  is  at  Taymouth,  and  is  a  well  painted  full- 
length  in  oils.  From  sketches  of  "Early  Scotch  His- 
tory," page  350,  it  appears  that  Jamesone,  the  Scotch 
painter,  worked  at  Taymouth  between  1633  and  1641. 
In  1635  he  executed  a  family  tree,  "  in  which  Sir  Dun- 
can of  Lochow,  the  great  ancestor  of  the  family,  is  re- 
presented in  a  red  plaid  and  kilt,  with  a  shirt  of  mail, 
checked  hose,  and  bare  knees." 

Mr.  Innes  does  not  mention  a  picture  of  the  "Begent 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  3  7  I 

Murray/'  so  the  owner  may  have  erred ;  perhaps  it  is 
"  Johne  Earl  of  Mar,  1637."  It  is  at  least'certain  that 
before  Jamesone's  time  kilts  were  worn  by  the  nobility, 
and  were  supposed  to  have  been  worn  by  their  remote 
ancestors.  There  are  several  other  pictures  at  Taymouth, 
which  are  portraits  of  men  and  boys  dressed  in  kilts  of 
various  fashions,  though  the  dress  of  the  nobility  gene- 
rally must  have  been  that  of  the  Court,  and  the  High- 
land dress  was  probably  abandoned  by  Scotch  kings  at 
an  early  date. 

We  have  foreign  authority  also  for  the  antiquity  of 
the  Highland  costume. 

At  the  British  Museum  there  is  a  curious  collection 
of  broadsides  and  ballads,  printed  in  Germany  during 
the  thirty  years'  war.  One  of  these  designs  heads  a 
ballad,  and  represents  an  "  Irlànder,"  a  "  Lappe,"  and 
a  "  Findlànder."  In  the  ballad  the  Lappe  asks  what 
has  brought  them  all  so  far  from  home,  and  the  "  Ir- 
lander  "  explains  the  reason  of  their  coming,  which  was 
to  assist  the  Protestant  cause.  This  was  in  1631. 
The  Lappe  is  partly  dressed  in  skins,  and  is  armed  with 
a  bow  and  arrows.  His  face  is  very  characteristic ; 
his  boots  are  of  the  same  pattern  as  those  now  made  in 
Lappmark,  and  his  knife  and  its  scabbard  resemble 
those  now  used  on  the  Tana  river. 

The  Finlander  is  evidently  in  uniform;  and  the 
Lapp  wears  knickerbokers  ;  so  he  was  probably  clad  in 
part  at  the  expense  of  his  country. 

The  "  Irlander"  is  dressed  in  tartan;  his  face  is  the 
face  of  a  Scotchman,  and  he  carries  a  bow  and  arrows. 
All  three  have  the  same  kind  of  guns,  so  probably 


37*  CELTIC  DRE8S. 

they  were  partly  armed  and  dressed  according  to  their 
national  costumes,  and  partly  in  uniform. 

The  Irlander  has  his  feet  and  legs  enveloped  in 
something  like  the  Gaelic  "  mogan,"  which  is  a  bit  of 
cloth  or  tartan  cut  into  the  shape  of  a  stocking;  and 
tied  round  the  feet  and  legs,  leaving  the  toes  and  the 
soles  of  the  feet  naked  as  often  as  not.  The  head-dress 
is  a  broad  bonnet,  which  appears  to  be  made  in  the 
same  way. 

Another  print  (789,  g.  104,  24)  gives  four  pictures 
of  these  Wanders,  and  was  probably  done  by  the  same 
artist  at  the  same  time.  As  all  the  archers  are  shooting 
with  their  left  hands,  it  was  probably  drawn  on  the 
wood  direct,  consequently  the  plaid  is  on  the  wrong 
shoulder,  and  the  sword  on  the  wrong  side,  but  the 
drawing  may  well  be  taken  from  life. 

The  man  with  the  walking-stick  is  dressed  in  the 
belted  plaid,  shirt,  bonnet,  brogues,  and  "mogans." 
The  man  next  him  is  accoutred  in  a  plaid,  a  bonnet, 
and  a  bow  and  arrows,  and  looks  like  a  newly-caught 
very  rough  specimen  of  a  "  redshank." 

The  next  has  knickerbokers  and  a  jacket,  but  mo- 
gans, and  no  brogues,  and  looks  like  No.  2,  changing 
into  a  soldier. 

The  fourth  appears  to  be  another  view  of  the  man 
drawn  in  No.  1. 

In  the  back  ground  the  plaided  army  is  seen 
marching  to  battle,  while  a  lot  of  archers,  apparently 
dressed  in  shirts  only,  are  running  in  front,  shooting 
as  they  run  at  a  scattered  mass  of  cavalry,  who,  of 
course,  are  retreating  in  disorder.     A  mass  of  spear- 


WEST  HIGHLAND  BTOHIES. 


374  CELTIC  DRESS. 

men  follow  the  kilts.  Thus  we  have  the  dress,  arms, 
and  mode  of  fighting  of  these  strange,  outlandish 
allies  of  the  Protestant  cause,  as  they  appeared  to  the 
Germans  when  they  landed  at  Stettin  in  1631. 

A  tliird  ballad  represents  one  of  these  new  allies 
with  a  cavalier  in  armour. 

These  three  prints  were  apparently  done  for  the 
purpose  of  informing  the  people  of  the  appearance 
of  their  allies.  Either  these  were  called  "Ereche," 
and  were  Scotch  Highlanders,  whom  the  Germans  un- 
derstood to  be  "Irish ;"  or  Irishmen  then  wore  the  same 
dress  as  the  Scotch  of  an  earlier  period,  and  sported 
tartan,  and  supported  the  Protestant  cause.  The  faces 
are  remarkably  like  Scotch  faces  at  all  events. 

It  appears  from  the  history  of  Gustavus  Adolphus 
by  Harte  (1759),  that  about  1630,  700  Scots,  who 
were  coasting  the  Baltic  from  Pillau  in  order  to  join 
the  main  body  of  the  Swedish  army,  were  shipwrecked 
near  Kugenwalt,  and  lost  their  ammunition  and  bag- 
gage. Monro,  their  commander,  got  fifty  muskets 
from  a  friend  in  Eugenwalt,  took  the  town  by  a  mid- 
night assault,  and  maintained  himself  there  for  nine 
weeks,  till  joined  by  Hepburn  with  a  small  army  of 
6000  men.  These  probably  were  the  "  Irren  "  of  the 
German  ballads,  who  are  variously  stated  at  800  and 
8000,  and  in  1631  are  said  to  have  newly  arrived  at 
Stettin.  Monro  published  an  account  of  his  cam- 
paigns in  1637. 

From  that  work  it  appears  probable  that  the  "Irren" 
of  the  print  were  the  shipwrecked  veterans  of  the 
"  Scotch  regiment,"  which  had  received  the  thanks  and 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  375 

commendations  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  a  short  time  be- 
fore in  Sweden,  which  had  done  good  service  in  former 
campaigns,  and  which  did  right  good  service  after- 
wards, 

Numbers  of  the  officers  bore  Highland  names. 
There  were  Munros,  Mackays,  MacDonalds,  Guns,  etc* 
"  Murdo  Piper"  was  drowned  in  trying  to  swim  ashore 
at  Eugenwelt.  They  had  a  "preacher  ;"  Monro  him- 
self was  a  stanch  protestant,  and  a  very  religious  man ; 
and  yet  he  gives  an  account  of  a  vision  which  one  of 
his  Highland  soldiers  had  seen,  and  which  came  true  in 
every  particular.  In  short,  it  is  manifest  that  these 
warriors,  clad  in  tartan  plaids,  were  Scotch  Highlanders 
in  their  national  costume,  and  lowland  Scotchmen  in 
tartan  uniforms.  Sir  Donald  Monro,  High  Dean  of 
the  Isles,  writing  in  1549,  calls  the  people  of  the  He- 
brides, "Erishe,"  and  their  language  "Erishe"  or 
"Erish."  In  1633,  the  Countess  of  Argyll  called 
Gaelic  "Erise"  and  "Irishe,"  so  the  German  words 
"  Irren  "  and  "  Irlànder  n  are  easily  explained,  if  there 
were  Scotch  lowlanders  in  the  regiment  to  name  their 
Highland  comrades. 

About  the  same  time  a  body  of  Scots,  under  one 
Sinclair,  landed  in  Norway,  and  tried  to  force  their 
way  to  Sweden.  The  people  rose  upon  them,  over- 
powered them,  took  some  prisoners,  and  after  a  time 
killed  them  in  cold  blood.  A  small  museum  has  been 
set  up  at  the  road  side  in  Gulbrans-dal,  and  comprises 
dirks,  powder-horns,  and  the  clasps  of  sporrans.  The 
shipwreck  of  the  party,  who  landed  at  Stettin,  would 
account  for  the  absence  of  ornament  in  their  dresses. 


376  CELTIC  DRESS. 

The  Highland  dress  then  of  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century  is  well  known,  and  corresponds 
with  one  of  the  oldest  sculptured  representations  of 
dress  known  to  exist  in  Scotland.  It  also  corresponds 
with  one  form  of  the  dress  as  now  worn,  though  modern 
tailors  have  diminished  the  amount  of  tartan,  and  im- 
proved upon  the  ancient  simplicity  of  the  belted  plaid. 

In  1822  General  Stewart  published  a  work,  called 
"  Sketches  of  the  Character,  Manners,  and  present  state 
of  the  Highlanders  of  Scotland,"  which  went  through 
several  editions,  and  the  dress  is  therein  described  and 
authorities  are  quoted  for  its  antiquity.  There  was  the 
"  truis"  or  tartan  breeches  and  stockings  in  one  piece, 
with  a  coat  or  jacket  variously  ornamented ;  secondly, 
the  belted  plaid,  which  was  worn  on  guards  and  full 
dress  occasions,  in  1740,  by  the  first  Highland  regiment 
embodied,  the  Black  Watch.  It  was  a  tartan  plaid  of 
twelve  yards  (that  is,  six  yards  long  and  two  wide), 
plaited  round  the  middle  of  the  body,  the  upper  part 
being  fixed  on  the  left  shoulder,  ready  to  be  thrown 
loose,  and  wrapped  over  both  shoulders  and  firelock  in 
rainy  weather.  At  night  the  plaid  served  the  purpose 
of  a  blanket,  and  was  a  sufficient  covering  for  the  High- 
lander. "  In  the  barracks,  and  when  not  on  duty, 
the  little  kilt  or  philibeg  was  worn." 

This  form  of  dress,  then,  was  the  simplest  possible 
use  of  a  web  of  cloth,  as  the  pattern  of  tartan  is  its 
simplest  ornament.  The  word  plaid  is  the  Gaelic 
plaide — a  blanket.  The  Gaelic  for  a  plaid  is  breacan, 
the  variegated  (garment) ;  the  Welsh  is  brychan.  The 
Gaelic  for  a  kilt  is  feile,  the  covering  or  the  shelter ; 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  377 

the  garment  now  worn  is  called  "  feilo  beag,"  the  little 
covering  which  my  friends  often  pronounce  "  filly-bag," 
and  suppose  to  mean  the  "sporran"  or  purse.  The 
kilt  is  sewn,  and  is  made  of  a  web  three  feet  wide 


bland  Drfln,  a.r 

Copied  from 

of  !■ 

Scotland  lu  173«. ' 

7h 

tartan  Tarics 

■re  disposed  In  diamonds  inatesd  of  at 

instead  of  sis.  The  wide  web  was  put  on  by  f 
it  backwards  and  forwards  along  a  belt  laid  on  the 
ground,  lying  down  upon  it,  and  fastening  the  belt 
round  the  waist.  One  half  of  the  cloth  fell  in  folds  to 
the  knee,  the  other  half  was  fastened  up  to  the  shoulder, 


3  7S  CELTIC  DRES& 

and  in  wet  weather  was  raised  over  the  head.  At 
night,  the  whole  could  he  cast  loose  and  worn  as  a 
blanket,  and  the  wearer  was  often  boned  in  his  plaid. 

This  striped  blanket,  then,  ought  to  be  a  very  ancient 
form  of  dress,  and  the  early  drees  of  most  nations  is 
something  like  a  kilt.    The  Greeks  and  Bomans,  for 


nep&rate  garments. 


example,  wore  kilts,  and  their  great  men  wore  a  broader 
web  of  cloth  variously  wrapped  about  their  bodies,  as 
primitive  people  elsewhere  in  the  world  still  do.  The 
dress  ought  to  be  old,  and  it  is  old.  The  modern  alter- 
ation is  but  an  improved  method  of  sewing  the  folds 
of  one  half  to  a  band,  and  wearing  the  rest  of  the 
plaid  over  the  shoulder,  and  in  so  far,  but  in  no  other 
sense,  the  dress  is  modern. 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  379 

Again,  it  is  said  that  gentlemen  did  not  wear  the 
Highland  dress,  that  it  was  the  dress  of  peasants, 
churls,  outlaws, .  and  such  like,  but  this  is  surely  an 
error. 

Every  Highlander  thinks  himself  a  gentleman  by 
birth,  and  often  behaves  all  the  better  for  holding  the 
opinion.  The  wearers  of  the  kilt  now  include  many 
titled  names;  George  the  Fourth  and  the  Duke  of 
Sussex  wore  it ;  the  officers  of  the  Black  Watch  and 
Prince  Charley  wore  it  in  1745  ;  Monro's  men  wore  it 
in  1630  ;  the  Regent  Murray  (or  the  Earl  of  Mar), 
Sutherlands,  MacDonalds,  and  Breadalbanes,  have  been 
painted  in  the  Highland  dress ;  Magnus  of  Norway, 
who  wore  it,  was  surely  a  gentleman,  if  none  of  these 
were ;  and  so,  I  presume,  was  the  individual  on  horse- 
back who  figures  on  the  St.  Andrews  stone,  and  has 
not  a  shred  of  covering  on  his  bare  legs,  though  he 
is  going  to  ride  into  a  wood,  and  get  terribly  scratched 
by  a  lion. 

There  is  no  standing  ground  for  the  notion  that 
the  dress  is  modern,  or  that  it  has  not  been  the  dress 
of  gentlemen  in  Scotland  from  a  very  early  period. 

John,  Duke  of  Argyll  and  Greenwich,  is  supposed 
to  be  the  author  of  the  well-known  Scotch  song,  which, 
for  popularity,  almost  equals  "  The  roast  beef  of  old 
England."     It  begins  thus  : — 

"  Argyll  is  my  name  and  you  may  think  it  strange 
To  live  at  a  court  and  never  to  change ; 
Falsehood  and  flattery  I  do  disdain, 
In  my  secret  thoughts  nae  guile  does  remain." 


3^0  CELTIC  DBK88. 

In  the  third  verse  the  author  of  the  song  repre- 
sents this  "  Argyll "  returning  to  the  Highlands,  and 
arraying  himself  in  the  Highland  dress. 


it 


I'll  quickly  lay  down  my  sword  and  my  gun, 
And  I'll  put  my  plaid  and  my  bonnet  on, 
Wi'  my  plaiding,  stockings,  and  leather  heerdshoon, 
They'll  mak  me  appear  a  fine  sprightly  loon. 
And  when  I  am  drest  thus  frae  tap  to  tae, 
Hame  to  my  Maggie  I  think  for  to  gae ; 
Wi*  my  claymore  hinging  down  to  my  heel, 
To  whang  at  the  bannocks  0'  barley  meal" 


Whether  this  duke  ever  wore  the  dress  described  or 
not,  the  author  of  this  song  clearly  considered  it  a 
fanner's  dress  ;  and  if  the  popular  tale  is  to  be  credited, 
some  courtiers  who  invited  him  to  a  dinner  of  barley 
meal  brose,  were  called  to  account  for  their  joke.  He 
praised  the  food  set  before  him,  and  acted  up  to  his 
principles ;  dined  on  the  barley  meal,  but  slew  the  man 
who  had  tried  to  make  game  of  him. 

Speaking  from  the  experience  of  one  who  wore  no 
other  dress  in  his  youth,  and  has  worn  it  at  odd  times 
all  his  life,  it  is  the  best  possible  dress  for  shooting, 
fishing,  wading,  walking,  or  running  ;  one  of  the  worst 
possible  for  riding,  or  boating;  it  is  inconvenient  at  first 
for  cover-shooting  in  whins  or  brambles,  or  for  watching 
at  a  pass  when  the  midges  are  out  on  a  warm  evening. 
It  is  a  capital  dress  for  a  healthy  man,  and  tends  to 
preserve  health  by  keeping  the  body  warm  and  dry. 
Many  a  man  has  caught  cold  when  he  changed  his 


38. 

dress,  and  exchanged  the  thick  folds  of  a  kilt  for  a  pair 
of  trousers.  It  is  commonly  worn  by  hoys  in  the 
Highlands  till  they  grow  up  to  be  striplings.  It  is 
hardly  ever  now  worn  by  labourers,  boatmen,  or  farmers. 
It  is  the  dress  of  individuals  of  all  classes — game- 
keepers, deers talkers,  peers,  pipers.  It  is  worn  by 
Highland  regiments,  and  occasionally  by  all  classes  of 
the  community  as  a  gala  dress,  when  they  attend  High- 
land demonstrations,  or  go  to  court;  but  it  can  no 
longer  be  called  the  common  dress  of  the  country, 
though  there  is  not  a  Highlander  in  it  or  out  of  it, 
whose  heart  does  not  "  warm  to  the  tartan." 

I  have  heard  it  related  that  a  tartan  plaid  worn 
in  Canada,  there  helped  to  rouse  up  a  whole  Highland 
country  side,  who  flow  to  arms  when  it  was  known  that 
one  who  wore  that  tartan  was  in  danger,  and  rescued 
the  wearer  and  the  plaid. 


]8l  CELTIC  ART. 

Celtic  art,  like  Gaelic  mythology,  points  eastwards, 
and  to  a  very  early  origin.  It  may  be  new  to  many 
to  hear  of  "  Celtic  art,"  but  nevertheless  it  is  classed 
in  the  GtammaT  of  Ornament  by  Owen  Jones,  who 
is  an  acknowledged  authority  in  such  i 


books  and  sculptures  and  in  ornaments  of  known  date, 
from  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  to  the  eleventh  or 
twelfth;  in  ornamental  writings,  on  stone,  pottery,  and 
metal,  found  in  the  British  Isles,  there  is  a  peculiar 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STOBIES.  383 

style  of  interlaced  ornament,  which  is  not  to  be  found 
in  Germany  or  in  Norway,  though  it  is  similar  to  Anglo- 
Saxon  ornaments  found  in  England.  Something  of  the 
kind  has  been  found  about  Mount  Athos,  and  in  a  few 
places  in  continental  Europe  where  Irish  or  Anglo- 
Saxon  missionaries  have  been.  And  as  Britain  was 
formerly  celebrated  for  basket-work,  it  has  been  in- 
geniously suggested  that  these  patterns,  which  can  be 
imitated  in  basket-work,  were  copied  from  ancient 
British  osier  patterns,  and  so  spread  eastwards  to 
Borne,  and  Byzantium,  and  the  East.  It  is  said  that 
in  the  oldest  manuscripts,  foliage  is  not  represented. 
Basket  work  might  well  be  the  foundation  of  pottery 
and  of  defensive  armour.  It  is  quite  common  for 
herd  boys  to  make  bottles  and  shields  of  rushes,  and 
even  conical  helmets  and  long  swords  of  the  same 
materials,  and  therewith  to  hold  sham  fights,  with  the 
cattle  for  spectators.  Early  British  clay  vessels  seem 
to  bear  the  mark  of  similar  workmanship,  and  the 
crow,  in  No.  vin.,  advises  the  girl  to  carry  water  by 
stuffing  a  sieve  with  clay.  A  basket  covered  with 
leather  makes  a  good  shield.  Boats  were  so  made, 
and  a  basket  lined  with  sunbaked  clay  would  serve  to 
carry  water,  and  the  shape  of  the  basket  might  well 
suggest  decorations,  but  I  would  rather  believe  that  the 
basket-makers  brought  their  patterns  from  the  East. 
At  all  events  the  interlaced  design  given  below  was 
taken  from  a  bronze  which  belongs  to  a  set  on  which 
the  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  elephants,  camels,  lions,  and 
Eastern  emblems  are  represented,  together  with  similar 
designs. 


3  84  CELTIC  ABT. 

Thi»  Western  tombstones  of  Iona  are  rich  i; 
patterns,  and  so  are  the  crosses  of  Ireland,  the  aculp- 
tured  stones  of  Scotland,  and  crosses  at  Sandbach,  in 
Cheshire.  The  pattern  on  the  cover  is  taken  from  a 
stone,  hi  Islay,  the  taU-pieco  is  from  an  ancient  Gaelic 
manuscript;  several  interlaced  designs  will  be  found 
in  voL  iii.,  and  these  complicated  knots  appear  to  be 
the  distinguishing  feature  of  ancient  British  Celtic  a 


But  on  crosses  and  other  monuments  in  Scotland 
these  interlaced  patterns  are  often  found  associated  with 
other  designs;  with  human  figures,  and  those  o; 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  385 

sters,  and  with  certain  symbols  which  have  not  yet 
been  explained. 

On  the  bronze  vessels,  from  one  of  which  the  above 
pattern  was  copied,  a  great  number  of  figures  and 
symbols  are  also  engraved,  and  as  their  meaning  is 
generally  clear  enough,  and  the  style  of  ornament  is  the 
same  with  that  which  is  called  "Celtic,"  the  bronzes 
and  the  sculptured  stones  may  perhaps  throw  light  upon 
each  other.  One  of  these  Scotch  hieroglyphics  is  very 
roughly  drawn  at  page  206,  vol.  iii,  and  is  better  re- 
presented at  page  499,  Prehistoric  Annals  of  Scot- 
land. 

In  the  one  case  it  forms  part  of  a  very  rudely 
sculptured  stone,  of  unknown  date  and  origin,  in  the 
other  it  is  part  of  a  design  copied  from  a  suit  of  silver 
armour  discovered  in  Scotland.  It  may  be  described 
as  three  spiral  lines  starting  from  a  common  centre,  and 
comprised  within  a  circle,  and  these  spiral  lines  are 
characteristic  of  Celtic  art  according  to  Owen  Jones. 
In  the  silver  ornament  this  symbol  is  twice  repeated, 
and  is  associated  with  the  "Z  ornament,"  the  "crescents," 
and  the  head  of  some  creature  which  seems  to  have 
horns.  The  question  is,  what  do  these  symbols  mean  Ì 
for  they  are  frequently  repeated  on  sculptured  stones 
in  Scotland. 

I  have  imagined  that  they  have  an  astronomical 
signification,  and  that  they  may  have  related  to  solar 
worship  before  they  were  adopted  as  ornaments  on 
crosses. — See  page  339,  vol.  iii 

The  Isle  of  Man  has  always  been  the  stronghold  of 
fairies,  and  it  was  the  refuge  of  the  Druids ;  the  Druids 

vol.  iv.  2  o 


386  CELTIC  ABT. 

were  astronomers,  as  it  is  said,  and  the  Mkulni  penny 
bean  a  device  which  is  the  same  in  principle  as  the  three 
spiral  lines,  though  these  have  grown  into  three  armed 
legs ;  and  thereby  bangs  a  popular  tale,  and  it  is  this : — 

"  Soine  fishermen  long  ago  arrived  on  the  shore  of 
an  Island  which  they  had  never  seen  or  heard  o£  be- 
cause it  was  always  enveloped  in  a  magic  cloud,  raised 
by  little  Manain,  the  Son  of  the  Sea.  They  landed, 
and  presently  there  came  rolling  on  the  mist  something 
like  a  wheel  of  fire,  with  legs  for  spokes,  and  the  portent 
so  frightened  the  men  that  they  fled  to  their  boats." 
But  the  charm  was  broken,  the  Isle  of  Man  had  been 
discovered,  and  its  possession  has  been  disputed  by  men 
and  fairies  ever  since. 

The  "  legs  of  Man  "  then  have  to  do  with  a  wheel 
of  fire. 

It  is  common  in  the  Highlands  now  to  speak  of  the 
"  wheel "  of  the  sun,  and  it  was  the  custom  not  long 
ago  to  ascend  some  high  hill  on  Easter  Sunday  to  see 
tln»  sun  rise,  and  "  whirl  round  like  a  mill  wheel,  and 
give  three  leaps."  But  a  peasant  of  a  practical  turn  of 
mind  rebuked  a  friend,  saying — 

"  Fool !  And  dost  thou  think  to  see  the  sun  rise 
from  there,  when  she  rises  beyond  Edinburgh,  and  so 
many  hills  as  there  are  in  the  way?" 

The  characteristic  spirals,  the  circle,  the  wheel,  and 
the  sun  are  thus  associated  by  Celtic  traditions  and  de- 
vices. The  design  given  below  was  traced  from  the 
bronze  vessel  already  mentioned,  and  it  represents  the 
sun,  with  three  lines  starting  from  its  centre.  These  are 
not  exactly  the  "  Legs  of  Man,"  but  they  are  drawn  on 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  3$7 

the  same  spiral  principle,  and  the  spaces  enclosed  are 
filled  by  three  human  races,  rudely  carved.  The  design 
resembles  that  on  the  "  Nome's  law  relics  "  found  in 
Fife,  and  in  the  east  it  clearly  related  to  fire  or  light. 


But  the  design  given  above  is  only  one  of  a  great 
many  on  the  same  vessel ;  all  bound  together  and 
enclosed  by  endless  lines,  turning,  and  twisting,  and 
sprouting  into  heads,  leaves,  and  buds ;  and  twelve  of 
the  designs  represent  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac.  Thus 
the  particular  style  of  ornament  which  experts  have 
agreed  to  call  "Celtic"  and  "Byzantine,"  here  occurs 
on  a  "Hindu"  sacred  bronze  almanac,  and  the  sun  in 
"  Leo "  has  the  spiral  lines  in  its  centre,  so  these  once 


388  CELTIC  ART. 

The  Lion's  tail  grows  into  a  serpent,  and  the  inter- 
laced ornament  sprouts  into  a  whole  crop  of  buds,  and 
monstrous  heads,  over  which  the  lion  stalks  triumphant 
"  Aries "  is  a  man  riding  on  a  monstrous  ram.  with  a 
flourishing  tail;  "Taurus"  is  mounted  on  a  bull; 
"  Gemini"  are  dancing  about  two  bulls'  heads ; "  Cancer" 
has  got  the  sun  in  his  claws;  "Leo"  is  described 
above ;  "Virgo,"  men  gathering  autumn  fruits;  **  Libra" 
is  a  lady  playing  on  a  guitar ;  "  Scorpio"  a  man  fighting 
with  two  scorpions  ;  "  Sagittarius  "  is  a  Centaur  shoot- 
ing back  at  a  monster  which  grows  out  of  the  end  of 
his  own  tail ;  "  Capricornus"  is  looking  back,  and  riding 
on  a  goat ;  "  Aquarius"  has  a  bird  :  and  "  Pisces  "  his 
two  fish ;  so  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  meaning  of  these 
designs  at  all  events. 

A  six-pointed  star,  made  of  interlaced  triangles  and 
curves  and  interlaced  patterns,  is  in  the  inside  of  the 
bronze  vessel,  and  as  the  star  is  surrounded  by  fish,  it 
is  to  be  argued  that  the  symbol  relates  to  water,  though 
it  is  also  surrounded  by  forty-nine  points  like  rays. 

But  the  Scotch  crosses,  and  standing  stones,  and 
sarcophagi  on  which  interlaced  designs  appear,  often  re- 
present animals  with  which  Scotch  artists  could  not 
well  be  familiar.  There  is  an  elephant  on  a  very 
beautiful  cross  in  Islay ;  there  is  a  camel  on  another 
stone,  figured  in  the  "  Sculptured  Stones  of  Scotland ;" 
On  the  St.  Andrews  sarcophagus  there  are  lions,  and 
apes  with  globes,  a  griffin,  and  a  knot  of  snakes ; 
and  though  the  system  of  ornament  might  be  of  home 
growth,  the  most  patriotic  of  Scotch  antiquaries  must 
refer  these  to  some  foreign  source.      The  question  now 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  389 

is,  Whence  did  the  Scotch  artists  borrow  these  ideas, 
which  they  could  not  have  got  at  home  1  Beneath  the 
signs  of  the  Zodiac,  on  the  eastern  bronze,  is  a  kind  of 
frieze  of  figures,  all  fighting,  and  inarching  sunwise 
round  the  bowL  Beneath  Aries  are  two  men  mounted 
on  a  camel,  one  shooting  arrows  backwards,  the  other 
shooting  forwards  at  the  tail  of  a  nondescript  animal 
like  a  hare.  The  falconer,  in  the  wood-cut  below,  is  be- 
tween "  Cancer  "  and  "  Leo."  Beneath  "  Virgo  "  is  a 
man  on  foot  resisting  the  progress  of  the  others  with 
a  long  spear,  and  also  an  elephant  with  several  riders ; 
and  beneath  these  is  a  procession  of  birds,  probably 
to  indicate  that  the  whole  has  to  do  with  the  powers 
of  the  air.  Beneath  them  are  human-headed  snakes. 
Above  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac  is  another  frieze,  com- 
prising forty-two  human  figures  engaged  in  all  sorts  of 
occupations : — playing  the  harp  and  the  tambourine, 
fighting  and  drinking ;  and  above  all  these,  on  the 
cover  of  the  vessel,  are  eight  compartments,  of  which 
one  is  figured  above ;  and  the  rest  are  in  like  manner 
occupied  by  figures  which  appear  to  represent  divinities 
or  the  heavenly  bodies.  Two  of  these  comprise  legends 
which  are  almost  effaced ;  one  is  in  a  "  Persian"  charac- 
ter, the  other  has  not  been  identified,  and  neither  has 
been  read.  Still  it  is  evident  that  this  is  of  Eastern, 
probably  "Hindu"  workmanship;  that  the  designs 
relate  to  matters  connected  with  the  heavens,  and  the 
gods  ;  that  the  sun  is  one  of  these,  and  that  the  style 
of  ornament  is  that  which  is  called  "  Celtic."  With 
these  designs  are  animals  which  are  associated  with 
like  designs  on  stones  in  Scotland  ;  camels,  elephants, 


39°  CELTIC  ART. 

lions,  horses,  hawks,  rams,  hulls,    goaty,  snakes, 
dragons,  ami  monsters. 

"  Celtic  ornament "  then  is  found  in  the  far  East, 
and  in  the  fur  West ;  and  the  foreign  animals  asso- 
ciated with  "Celtic  ornament"  in  Scotland  are  as3o- 
eb&ed  with   ■  similar   style  of  ornament  on   ancient 


Hindu  vessels.      The  iiwlhiìiil;  vl  the  symbols 
hitter  case  is  sufficiently  plain.     It  seema  posdbh 
the  others  may  have  a  liko  signification. 


Is  in  the 
dUa  that 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES. 


With  this  view,  the  horseman  on  the  St.  Andrews 
sarcophagus  may  have  the  same  meaning  as  the  horse- 
man figured  below. 


Figure  between  Leo  and  Gemini,  on  a  chased  silver  Inlaid  Hindu  bronze. 

They  are  dressed  in  some  national  costume ;  the  one 
wears  a  belted  plaid  and  has  bare  legs  ;  the  other  ap- 
pears to  have  a  Persian  dress,  but  both  carry  hawks 
and  swords,  and  are  fighting  lions,  without  any  appa- 
rent reference  in  the  one  case  to  a  bronze  howl,  or  in 
the  other  to  a  sarcophagus.  In  both  cases  the  figures 
are  marching  "  sunwise ;"  in  the  one  case  the  figure 
clearly  has  to  do  with  astronomical  symbols  ;  it  is  pos- 
sible that  the  St  Andrews  stone  and  the  Eastern 
bowl  may  have  been  sculptured  with  a  like  intention. 

Another  curious  ancient  bronze  sacrificial  vessel 
was  brought  from  Java  in  1817  by  my  friend  Mr.  John 
Crawford,  and  proves  that  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac  were 
associated  with  Hindu  worship,  in  a  place  nearly  as 
remote  from  Central  Asia  as  Scotland  is.  The  vessel 
was  found  amongst  the  ruins  of  Hindu  temples,  and 


39*  CELTIC  ART. 

bean  a  date  equivalent  to  a.d.  1320.  It  is  a  rough 
casting,  and  the  style  of  art  is  different  In  the  in- 
side, at  the  bottom,  is  an  eight-pointed  star,  with  some 
rude  figure  in  a  circle  within  the  star.  On  the  outside 
are  twelve  symbols,  with  twelve  figures  above  them. 
These  are — 

1.  A  ram,  or  some  other  horned  and  bearded  animal 
of  a  like  kind,  above  which  is  a  long-armed,  long- 
bearded,  large  human  figure,  in  profile.  Both  are 
facing  the  same  way — "  sunwise,"  westwards. 

2.  A  bull,  or  cow,  with  a  hump ;  above  which  is  a 
human  figure  with  a  crown,  or  a  glory ;  seen  full  face, 
and  therefore  stationary. 

3.  Instead  of  "  Gemini,"  semething  like  a  triple 
claw  emerging  from  a  sleeve,  or  a  cloud,  and  pointing 
back  at  the  bull ;  above  which  is  a  short,  thick,  human 
figure,  with  a  helmet,  or  a  monstrous  head,  with  a  bill 
like  that  of  a  goose,  facing  the  usual  way.* 

4.  A  crab  with  his  claws  upwards,  ready  to  run 
either  way  sideways ;  above  is  a  man  carrying  some- 
thing over  his  shoulder  on  a  stick,  and  walking  sun- 
wise about  the  bowl. 

5.  Instead  of  "  Leo,"  a  two-legged  dragon,  without 
wings,  and  with  a  long  tail,  facing  sunwise;  above 
which  is  the  stationary  figure  in  No.  2,  repeated. 

6.  A  draped  female  figure,  moving  sunwise  ;  above 
which  is  a  stationary  female  figure,  very  like  the  male 
figure  in  No.  5. 

7.  The  scales.  The  figure  above  is  moving  sunwise, 
but  is  not  easily  made  out. 

*  The  sun  in  Gemini  is  north  of  an  observer  about  the  lati- 
tude of  Bombay. 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  393 

8.  A  scorpion,  facing  sunwise ;  above  is  a  repetition 
of  the  figure  in  No.  2. 

9.  A  bent  bow,  with  an  arrow  on  the  string  point- 
ing  sunwise ;  above  is  a  monstrous  bird,  like  an  eagle, 
walking  the  other  way. 

10.  Instead  of  "  Capricornus,"  a  creature  like  a  lob- 
ster, crayfish,  or  shrimp ;  all  of  which  walk  forwards,  and 
swim  backwards.  This  symbol,  therefore,  corresponds 
to  the  crab,  which  walks  sideways  in 'either  direc- 
tion ;  and  it  probably  indicates  the  Southern  tropic,  or 
Northern  winter. 

11.  A  jar,  above  which  is  a  man  walking  sunwise, 
and  carrying  something  ;  probably  "  Aquarius  "  in  his 
Javanese  dress. 

12.  A  fish,  with  something  like  an  elephant's  trunk, 
the  head  as  usual  pointing  sunwise,  or  to  the  right  of 
the  vessel.  Above  the  fish  is  the  same  figure  which  is 
repeated  in  2,  5,  8, 10,  and  12.  The  human  figures  are 
dressed  in  some  scanty  costume  which  bears  a  resem- 
blance to  Javanese  dresses ;  it  is  therefore  probable  that 
the  vessel  was  made  in  the  country  where  it  was  found. 

Java  is  to  the  south  of  the  equator,  and  conse- 
quently, stars  which  seem  to  move  along  the  equator 
or  ecliptic  there  appear  to  move  about  an  observer  or 
a  vessel  set  upright,  in  a  direction  contrary  to  that  in 
which  they  seem  to  move  in  the  northern  hemisphere. 
The  sun,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  is  to  the 
north  of  an  observer  whose  head  is  towards  the  South 
Pole,  and  there  appears  to  him  to  move  East,  North, 
West,  South,  from  his  right  hand  towards  his  left  from 
morning  to  evening.      But  the  symbols  of  constellations 


394  CELTIC  ART. 

on  the  Java  sacrificial  vessel,  like  those  on  the  Hindu 
bowl,  are  facing  in  the  opposite  direction ;  the  direc- 
tion in  which  the  constellations  would  appear  to  move 
about  the  vessels  if  they  were  placed  on  their  bases 
north  of  the  tropic  of  Cancer. 

When  the  sun  in  our  spring  seems  to  move  north- 
wards, up,  and  back,  from  "Aries11  to  "Taurus,"  the 
ram  and  the  bull  seem  to  move  from  East  to  West, 
and  from  left'  to  right,  and  down,  and  to  the  south  of 
the  sun,  on  the  ecliptic,  because  the  earth  is  moving. 
But  to  an  observer  in  the  southern  hemisphere  who  has 
put  his  head  the  other  way  through  the  hoop,  towards 
the  South  Pole,  the  constellations  seem  to  pass  the 
sun,  and  rise  and  set,  still  moving  from  East  to  West, 
but  from  right  to  left,  not  from  left  to  right  On  the 
Java  bronze  they  are  facing  to  the  right,  consequently  it 
is  probable  that  the  symbols  were  not  invented  in  Java 
or  south  of  the  line,  but  somewhere  in  the  northern 
hemisphere,  and  the  agricultural  operations  represented 
in  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac  agree  with  northern  seasons.* 
But  if  these  symbols  were  invented  in  Central  Asia,  or 
in  Babylon,  3000  years  ago,  or  in  Egypt  or  Greece,  it  is 
just  as  likely  that  they  should  have  arrived  in  Scot- 
land, as  it  is  that  they  should  have  got  to  Java  540 
years  ago.  It  is  thus  proved  that  certain  symbolical 
creatures  have  been  associated  with  astronomy ;  that 
in  Java,  India,  Greece,  and  Home  they  have  been 
associated  with  worship  ;  and  in  India  with  a  particular 
style  of  ornament.  That  style  of  ornament  is  found  in 
Scotland,  on  sculptured  stones  of  unknown  date,  and 

*  On  the  Farnese  globe  the  signs,  except  Taurus,  face  westwards. 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  39 J 

associated  with  the  figures  of  the  animals,  which  in 
Home,  Greece,  India,  and  Java,  have  represented  con- 
stellations. The  meaning  of  these,  and  of  certain  Scotch 
symbols,*  is  unexplained,  but  it  is  not  unreasonable  to 
suppose  that  they  once  had  a  similar  meaning  in  India 
and  in  Scotland,  when  there  are  so  many  hands  point- 
ing towards  Central  Asia  as  the  common  starting  place 
of  so  many  human  races. 

It  would  be  going  too  far  to  call  the  ram  on  the 
St.  Andrews  stone  "Aries/'  and  the  lion  "Leo;"  but 
till  something  has  been  found  out  concerning  the  stone 
falconer  of  the  long  locks,  and  the  naked  legs,  and  the 
flowing  dress,  he  may  perhaps  pass  for  a  relative  of 
the  Eastern  bronze  falconer  who  is  fighting  a  lion, 
between  "  Cancer"  and  "  Leo,"  amongst  twisted  snakes, 
and  branches  and  buds,  under  the  sway  of  the  sun  and 
moon,  and  of  divers  many-armed  graven  images,  whose 
meaning  is  not  so  clear. 

Perhaps  the  oldest  bit  of  Celtic  ornamental  art 
known,  is  to  be  found  in  Gavr  Innis,  in  Brittany.  A 
large  sepulchral  mound  was  opened  some  years  ago,  and 
was  found  to  cover  a  passage  formed  of  large  boulders, 
one  of  which  is  figured  above,  p.  382.  The  cut  is  taken 
from  a  very  hasty  sketch,  made  in  August  1855,  in  a  very 
bad  light  The  design  appears  to  be  a  rude  attempt 
to  represent  the  inside  of  a  house,  like  the  tomb 
itself,  or  such  as  a  Lapp  hut,  or  an  Icelandic  house, 
or  a  Highland  cottage,  now  is.  A  sketch  of  part  of 
the  interior  of  a  Lapp  hut  will  be  found  in  vol.  iii., 

*  Some  of  the  symbols  are  like  the  letters  Z.  V.  A.  0.  A  S. 
K  •    See  page  339., 


396  CELTIC  ART. 

frontispiece.  Such  dwellings  are  thus  made — a  num- 
ber of  rough  sticks  or  trunks  of  small  trees,  or  big 
stones,  are  set  in  the  ground  about  the  plan  or  floor  «f 
the  house,  which  in  Gaelic  is  called  "  larach,"  and  in 
Scotch  "  stance."  If  the  house  is  to  be  of  sticks  and 
round,  the  sticks  slope  over  towards  the  centre,  and 
form  a  cone.  If  it  is  to  have  a  passage,  like  Icelandic 
houses,  stakes  or  large  stones  are  set  in  two  rows,  and 
planted  nearly  upright  If  it  is  to  be  square,  the  pass- 
age walls  are  separated  and  repeated,  and  the  roof  is  a 
pyramid. 

This,  so  far,  is  an  imitation  o£  and  only  an  improve- 
ment on  the  frame-work  of  a  round  or  square  tent. 

The  next  step  is  to  place  sticks  across  the  others  to 
keep  them  steady,  and  in  the  Gavr  Innis  design,  as 
in  the  sketch  of  the  Lapp  hut,  this  appears  to  be 
indicated.  In  Highland  stone  and  turf  cottages,  the 
partitions  are  still  made  of  hurdles  plastered  with  clay. 

In  the  Morea,  the  shepherds  still  make  temporary 
conical  wattled  huts  in  which  they  live,  but  as  the 
climate  is  warm,  a  thatch  of  branches  is  sufficient. 

The  frame- work  being  made,  the  hut  is  covered  out- 
side with  birch  bark,  turf,  or  some  contrivance  to  "  stop 
up  the  sieve,"  or  "line  the  basket ;"  and  then  big  stones, 
and  earth,  and  rubbish,  and  turf,  and  other  available 
materials,  are  heaped  up  and  stamped  down  to  keep  out 
the  wind  and  cold,  till  there  remains  a  hollow,  conical, 
or  pyramidal  mound,  on  which,  after  a  time,  the  grass 
grows.  To  extend  this  principle,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  place  the  cone  or  pyramid  of  earth  upon  the  upright 
passage  walls.     To  make  this  a  really  comfortable  dwell- 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  397 

ing,  it  is  only  necessary  to  line  the  sides  with  planks ;  and 
many  comfortable  hospitable  dwellings,  in  which  well- 
educated  polite  ladies  and  gentlemen  now  reside  in  Ice- 
land,  are  mainly  built  of  boulders  and  turf,  lined  with 
planks,  and  look  like  a  nest  of  green  hillocks  at  a  dis- 
tance. The  long  passages  in  tombs  at  Gavr  Innis,  and 
in  Greece,  are  very  like  those  in  old  Icelandic  houses 
which  I  have  seen.  No  material,  it  is  said,  resists  cold 
so  well  as  earth ;  and  as  fuel  and  timber  are  scarce  in  the 
north,  so  Highland  cottages  are  like  Icelandic  houses. 

The  architectural  design  on  the  passage  wall  of  the 
tomb  in  Gavr  Innis  appears  to  represent  the  inside 
view  of  such  a  building,  with  its  stakes,  stones,  and 
turfj  but  the  waving  lines  cannot  be  so  explained. 
They  look  like  serpents,  and  there  are  similar  designs, 
like  a  serpent  pierced  by  a  zig-zag  line,  on  stones  in 
Scotland.  (See  vol.  iii.,  339.)  In  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  of  Gavr  Innis,  there  are  great  numbers 
of  "  standing  stones,"  like  those  which  exist  in  England, 
etc.  Some  of  enormous  size  have  fallen  and  are  broken, 
but  others  remain  erect.  At  Carnac*  there  is  an  array 
of  smaller  stones  which  extends  for  about  three  miles. 
There  must  have  been  many  thousands  of  them  ar- 
ranged in  rows  at  some  period,  and  many  hundreds 
still  remain  erect.  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  this 
enormous  work  had  not  a  religious  meaning.  If 
so,  then,  similar  monuments  on  a  smaller  scale,  such 
as  "  Stonehenge "  in  England,  and  "  Calenish "  in 
Lewes,  and  standing  stones  and  barrows  all  over  the 
world,  even  to  the  obelisks,  and  pyramids,  and  temples 

*  Gaelic  earn,  a  heap  of  stones ;  achadh,  a  field  (?)  stonefield. 


398  CELTIC  ART. 

of  Egypt,  may  be  but  various  growths  of  the  primitive 
ideas  of  dwellings,  tombs,  and  temples.  From  a  tree 
came  a  post,  a  gnomon,  and  a  pillar ;  from  a  tent  came 
a  hut,  and  thence  a  house ;  from  a  sepulchral  mound 
came  a  cairn,  and  thence  a  pyramid ;  from  stakes  and 
poles  grew  columns;  from  sloping  tent-sticks,  came 
rafters  and  a  roof,  and  thence  a  covered  temple,  with 
rows  of  pillars :  and  so  architectural  ornaments  might 
take  their  origin  from  wattled  branches,  leaves,  basket- 
work,  hurdles,  and  mats  ;  plaited  straw,  rushes,  and 
hair,  honeysuckle,  and  birch  roots. 

Specimens  of  the  style  of  design,  which  is  called 
Celtic,  will  be  found  at  pp.  123,  287,  vol.  iii,  and  on 
the  cover  of  this  book;  and  the  nearest  good  hair- 
dresser or  maker  of  straw  mats  will  imitate  the  design 
on  page  123. 

Thus  sacred  ivy,  matted  about  a  sacred  oak,  may 
have  suggested  the  interlaced  ornaments  on  stone 
pillars  and  Christian  crosses  ;  and  basket-work  may 
have  suggested  the  patterns  on  gold  and  silver  filigree, 
on  stone  and  clay  vessels  and  pottery,  on  carved  powder- 
horns  and  dirks,  and  generally  the  designs  attributed  to 
Celtic  art.  Honeysuckle  is  the  object  of  superstitious 
observances  at  this  day.  It  winds  sunwise  about  trees, 
and  its  long  stem  would  be  a  good  material  for  making 
these  basket-work  designs. 

But  the  fact  that  such  designs  are  found  upon 
works  of  art  manufactured  in  the  far  East,  seems  to 
prove  that  "  Celtic  art "  was  not  invented  in  the  British 
isles,  but  imported  at  some  early  date. 

It  was  not  brought  by  the  Northmen,  for  there  is 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES. 


400  CELTIC  ART. 

nothing  like  it  in  Scandinavia.  For  a  similar  reason. 
it  was  not  brought  by  the  Normans,  Anglo-Saxons,  or 
Romans ;  stones  and  manuscripts  on  which  it  occurs, 
are  older  than  the  Saracenic  period ;  and  unless  the 
Celts  brought  the  germ  of  it  from  the  far  East,  with 
their  religion  and  language,  and  their  popular  tales, 
it  is  hard  to  explain  the  occurrence  of  similar  eastern 
animals,  monsters,  and  "  runic  knots  "  on  the  sculptured 
stones  of  Scotland,  and  on  "  Hindu"  bronzes. 

There  are  plenty  of  cases  in  which  Greek  or  Italian 
art  can  he  traced  in  the  Hebrides.  The  ornament 
figured  below,  is  from  a  stone  which  was  found  in  the 
ancient  stronghold  of  the  MacDonalds  in  Inlay. 

It  is  rude  enough,  much  broken,  and  the  atone  is 
worn  away,  seemingly  by  the  hands  of  those  who  used 
it.  It  is  very  old,  but  the  style  of  ornament  is  not 
"  Celtic." 


found  Bbont  1830  nnder  the  ruins 
tbe  island  in  Loch  Flonnlsgain,  tbe 
lay.    The  inside  of  " 


It  is  the  style  which  is  to  be  found  in  wooden  Nor- 
wegian churches,  said  to  be  as  old  as  a.  d.  1100,  and 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  4OI 

which  is  characteristic  of  more  modem  Norwegian 
carving,  on  knife  handles,  powder-horns,  wooden  chests, 
and  such.  like  articles.  A  glance  at  the  following 
woodcut  will  shew  what  is  meant. 


■n,  carved  by  d  peasant  Id  Gulbrandsdal,  Norway, 
ar  designs  are  common  in  Norwegian  carvings,  even 
:b  SB  old  as  1100,  according  (0  lie  dates  upon  it.  I 
iu-csllcd  Bunii;  knot  In  Br 


Celtic  art  then  appears  to  he  of  Eastern  origin,  like 
"Celtic  nations"  and  "languages,"  and  like  Gaelic 
popular  tales. 

The  well-known  superstitious  observances  connected 
with  Halloween  have  heen  referred  to  Eastern  solar 
worship*  The  Reverend  James  Robertson,  minister  of 
Callander,  described  tbem  in  1791,  and  alluded  to  the 
stone  circles  of  Scotland  as  to  Druidical  temples.  He 
tells  that  iu  his  day,  in  hamlets,  a  fire  was  lighted  at 
sundown,  made  entirely  of  ferns  gathered  on  Halloween. 
The  neighbours  assembled,  and  each,  according  to 
seniority,   placed  a  marked  stone  at  the  edge  of   the 

*  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  vol 
iii.,  p.  223.  Other  ceremonies  are  described  ÌU  Armstroneg 
Dictionary.    See  Benllninn. 

VOI:.   IT.  2  D 


402  CELTIC  ART. 

ashes  till  a  circle  was  made  about  the  aite  of  the  fire, 
which  was  then  abandoned. 

Next  morning  the  place  was  visited,  and  if  any 
of  the  party  found  his  foot-print  in  the  aahee,  and  his 
stone  removed  from  its  place,  he  was  doomed  to  die 
before  the  twelve  months  expired. 

I  have  often  seen  the  site  of  fires  surrounded  by 
stones  placed  there  by  children ;  and  once,  on  a  beau- 
tiful Easter  Thursday  evening  (April  5),  just  at  sun- 
down, many  fires  suddenly  appeared  blazing  and  smok- 
ing on  the  hill-tops  in  the  Isle  of  Man.  In  about  ten 
minutes  they  all  vanished  as  suddenly  as  they  had 
appeared,  and  a  Manksman,  who  was  asked  to  explain 
the  cause,  looked  much  disturbed,  and  went  his  way  in 
haste  without  answering. 

"  Bealtainn,"  yellow  May  day,  is  in  spring ;  and 
all  Saints,  All  Hallows  or  Halloween,  "  Samhuinn," 
1st  of  November,  is  late  in  autumn — so  there  are  Pagan 
as  well  as  Christian  observances  connected  with  these 
two  seasons. 

The  following  passage  from  Mr.  Eobertson's  letter 
adds  to  the  list  of  things  which  were  done  sunwise  in 
his  day  in  the  Highlands  : — 

"  To  this  day,  when  the  Highlanders  go  round  anything  with 
a  degree  of  religious  veneration,  they  go  round  in  the  same  direc- 
tion as  the  sun  goes  round  the  world  on  this  side  the  equator, 
i.e.,  from  east  to  west,  by  the  south  side.  This  is  the  direction 
in  which  a  bride  is  placed  by  her  bridegroom  when  they  stand  up 
to  be  married ;  the  direction  in  which  the  bridegroom  turns  round 
the  bride  to  give  the  first  kiss  after  the  nuptial  ceremony ;  the 
direction  in  which  they  go  at  least  half  round  a  grave  before  the 
coffin  is  deposited ;  the  direction  in  which  they  go  round  any  con* 


WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES.  403 

secrated  fountain,  whose  waters  are  supposed  to  have  some  medi- 
cinal virtues  which  thej  expect  to  receive  by  immersion  or 
drinking. 

"  I  have  heard  it  said,  that  in  certain  places  of  the  Highlands 
the  people  sometimes  took  off  their  bonnets  to  the  sun  when  he 
appeared  first  in  the  morning." 

It  seems,  then,  that  the  ancient  eastern  veneration 
for  the  son  and  for  fire,  which  is  recorded  in  the  Vedas, 
still  survives  in  the  West  Highlands  in  popular  super- 
stitious observances  which  resemble  Indian  religious 
ceremonies.  Perhaps  "Bodach"  the  bogle,  may  once 
have  been  "  Buddha1'  the  sage  ;  "  Bramman"  the  fiend, 
"  Brahme"  the  air ;  "  Fuath"  the  spectre,  "  Fohi"  the 
god;  "Cailleach"  the  night  hag,  "Cale";  and  "  Aigne," 
thought  "  Agni,"  divine  fire. 

Note. — "  King  Arthur's  table"  is  still  preserved  at  Winchester. 
It  is  hard  to  believe  that  it  is  the  real  table,  but  it  is  what  people 
thought  it  was  like  a  long  time  ago,  about  the  time  of  Henry  the 
VIIL 

It  is  round.  In  the  centre  are  two  five-leaved  roses,  which 
are  surrounded  by  an  inscription,  which  declares  that  "  This  is 
the  round  table  of  King  Arthur  and  his  twenty-four  knights." 
Outside  the  circle  in  which  the  inscription  is,  the  table  is  divided 
into  twenty-four  radiating  stripes  of  alternate  black  and  white ; 
and  at  the  end  of  each,  at  the  edge  of  the  table,  is  the  name  of  a 
knight.  All  the  names  read  from  the  centre,  consequently  they 
read  "  sunwise." 

King  Arthur,  crowned  and  throned  with  globe  and  sceptre,  sits 
as  though  he  had  sat  in  the  midst,  facing  outwards,  and  behind 
his  head  is  a  kind  of  glory  of  light,  in  which  is  his  name.  It  has 
been  suspected  that  a  real  King  Arthur  has  acquired  the  attri- 
butes of  a  pagan  sun-god  ;  and  this  looks  very  like  it,  when 
brought  to  bear  upon  other  Celtic  traditions. 


4O4  MUSIC. 


Music. 

A  work  on  Gaelic  music  is  in  course  of  preparation, 
when  that  appears  there  will  be  another  element  of 
comparison.  Meantime  those  who  are  curious  in  such 
matters  may  hear  bagpipes  in  nearly  all  the  European 
countries  where  Celts  have  been.  I  have  beard  the 
pipes  in  Ireland,  Scotland,  Spain,  Portagal,  and  Italy. 
I  believe  they  are  in  Albania,  and  I  have  heard  tell 
of  something  of  the  kind  in  the  Himalayan  moun- 
tains. They  are  to  be  seen  in  old  English  prints, 
and  old  German  pictures  ;  and  the  other  ancient  Gaelic 
musical  instrument,  the  harp,  is  to  be  found  all  over 
the  world  Who  first  invented  these  is  a  question  yet 
to  be  solved,  but  both  are  sufficiently  old 

In  1G27,  a  certain  Alexander  MaoNaughtan,  of 
that  ilk,  was  commissioned  to  raise  a  body  of  Highland 
bowmen,  and  on  January  15,  1628,  he  wrote  to  the 
Earl  of  Morton  from  Falmouth,  where  he  had  been 
driven,  with  his  men,  by  stress  of  weather.     He  says* — 

.  .  "  (and  withal)  that  your  L.  will  haue  clothis  for 
them  quhen  it  sail  pleise  god  that  they  come  to  the  He  of  Wicht, 
f  >r  your  L.  knowis  althow  they  be  men  of  personagis,  they  cannot 
muster  befoir  your  L.  with  thair  Trewis  and  blew  cappis." 

Whether  this  means  that  they  wore  trewis,  or  had 
none  to  wear,  does  not  clearly  appear,  but  the  post- 
script seems  to  imply  the  latter.     He  says — 

*  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  vol. 
iii.,  p.  248. 


CONCLUSION,  4O5 

"  My  L.  as  for  new  is  frome  our  selfis  oar  bagg  pypperis  and 
Marlit  Plaidis  serwitt  us  to  guid  wise  in  the  persuit  of  ane  man  of 
warr  thathetlie  followit  us." 

These  men,  therefore,  wore  tartans,  and  followed 
the  pipes,  and  as  they  were  bound  to  join  the  forces 
of  King  Charles  I.  they  were  a  Highland  regiment  in 
embryo.  It  appears  that  the  piper  Allester  Caddell  was 
followed  by  a  boy,  and  pipers  still  claim  to  be  exempt 
from  menial  service.  There  was  also  "  Harrie  M'Gra, 
harper,  fra  Larg,"  and  another  piper ;  and  as  they  were 
one  hundred  on  the  roll,  they  had  a  tolerable  band  of 
national  music.  At  the  end  of  the  roll  is  the  remark : — 
"  To  be  disposed  of  be  the  Erie  of  Morton.  They 
haue  bene  deir  guests." 

They  were  shipped  at  "  Lochkilcherane,,,  11th  of 
December  1627,  and  it  is  surmised  that  they  must  have 
joined  their  countrymen  and  Gustavus  Adolphus. 


And  now,  in  conclusion,  let  me  recommend  the 
study  of  Gaelic  to  Scotch  antiquaries.  Their  worthy 
president  lately  expressed  a  wish  to  be  able  to  knock 
up  the  dead,  by  the  help  of  a  table,  to  answer  some 
vexed  questions  : — he  could  get  nothing  even  from 
them  without  knowing  the  language  of  his  departed 
countrymen. 

In  the  preceding  pages,  strange  Gaelic  witnesses 
dressed  in  vellum  and  parchment  and  tattered  brown 
paper,  and  some  few  in  gay  attire  of  green  and  gold — 
queer  characters,  who  live  far  up  the  stream  of  time — 
have  appeared  to  answer  questions,  and  have  told 
a  great   deal    about   the    Ossianic    controversy.      A 


40Ò  CONCLUSION. 

good  number  of  lowlanders  have  been  summoned  from 
the  past,  and  have  deponed,  sometimes  in  very  bad 
language,  that  they  knew  of  the  Feinne,  and  thought 
them  bad  company,  but  Celtic  gods. 

A  good  number  of  Welsh  and  Breton  witnesses 
have  been  called,  and  have  confirmed  what  the  rest  had 
asserted.  A  few  Icelanders,  Norwegians,  Germans,  and 
Frenchmen,  a  Carthagenian,  and  some  Egyptians,  Arabs, 
Persians,  Indians,  and  Aryans,  have  said  a  few  words. 
A  good  many  Highland  hills,  and  a  few  Edinburgh 
porters,  have  said  their  say ;  and  the  best  sort  of  clair- 
voyance, as  it  seems  to  me,  for  my  lowland  countrymen 
to  aim  at,  is  to  clear  their  eyes  from  lowland  prejudice, 
and  take  a  look  at  Gaelic,  when  they  want  to  find  out 
something  which  happened  before  that  language  was 
driven  into  corners.  A  large  proportion  of  the  names 
about  Edinburgh  are  Gaelic ;  but  no  one  there  will  look 
so  near  home  as  the  first  Highland  porter  for  an  explana- 
tion of  their  meaning.  Men  would  rather  go  to  Wales 
or  Brittany  than  look  at  home  for  anything  "  British," 
and  even  Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  wrote  amongst  a  Gaelic 
population,  made  the  strangest  of  mistakes  when  he 
used  Gaelic  words. 

As  I  have  done  my  best  to  make  peace  between 
Celt  and  Celt,  and  Celt  and  Saxon,  I  wished  to  end 
with  a  peaceful  Gaelic  quotation ;  but  having  searched 
right  through  divers  song  books,  I  have  utterly  failed 
to  discover  one  that  will  suit.  Bards  are  a  pugnacious 
race.  I  can  only  say  with  Motherwell  and  the  Gaelic 
proverb — 

"  Gree,  bairn ies,  gree." 


CONCLUSION. 


"  Se  deireadh  gach  cogaidh  sith." 
The  end  of  each  strife  is  peace. 

Even  the  strife  and  confusion  of  tails,  which  some 
ancient  Gaelic  artist  Imagined  and  depicted  centuries 
ago ;  even  the  "  Ossianic  controversy,"  and  its  confu- 
sion of  tongues  and  arguments;  "Mythology;"  "West 
Highland  Tales;"  even  this  lengthy  postscript  and 
its  tail-piece— all  have   a    beginning,    a  middle,  and 


ì: 


it  ■ 


OSSIAMC  BALLADS  ORALLY  CO 


race) 


Poetry  Orally  Collected. 
1851M80U. 


1.  Fionn'B  Questions 

2.  Dianuaid  and  Graidhne 

3.  Derg  Mae  Derg 

4.  Laoidh  Dhiannaid 

5.  A  Mhuilearteach 

G.  Laoidh  an  Amadain  Mor 

7.  Heaihan  MacRigh  Beirbh 

8.  Moladh  (ihuill      . 

9.  Ijioidh  Osgair 

10.  Duan  na  Ceardoch 


Unpublished. 

11.  Rann  fhir  Strathnihanuis 

12.  Righ  Breatann     . 

13.  Leannan  Sith 

14.  15,  10,  17.  Fraoch 
18.  Duan  nan  Ceann 
1«».  Oran  don  Ghille  dubh 

20.  Has  <  )scair  (No.  9  version) 

21.  Colla  Mo  Hun 

22.  Dan  Fir  Thrarlochain  . 

23.  Has  Chonlaoich    . 

24.  2'».   Laoidli  (,'baoilte 
20.   I^aoidh  a  clioin  duibh  . 

7,  28,  21»,  30.  Conn  Mac  an  Deirg 

31.  Macabh  Mor  High  na  Sorcba 

32.  Dan  na  Higbean  . 

33.  MarOighre  High  na  Iorsmail 

34.  Cath  Mhaimis 

35.  Na  Brataiebean    . 

36.  Teanntarbd  Mor  na  Finne 

37.  Hriathra  Finn  ri  Oscur 

38.  t.'oirral 

39.  Duan  Choluin 

40.  Bas  Choireal 

41.  Do. 

42.  Suire  Osein 

43.  Laoidh  Chlerich  . 

44.  Na  b  Ainu    . 

Version  of  10. 

45.  A  Mbuirearteach 

Version  of  5. 
For  the  rest  see  List,  No.  335. 


West  Highland  |  M8S.  AJn^I 

Tales. 

k 


Index. 
No. 


VoL  iiL 
No. 


241 
09 
87 
240 
237 
273 
246 
282 
249 
303 


69 
60 
61 
61 
73 
74 
77 
79 
81 
86 


Number  on  List. 


4 

6 
20,  220,  289.  221 

48 

57 

74 
102 
187 
212 

243,  247 
244 
245,  288,  290,  2: 
248 
291 
277 
279 
278 
281 
292 
280 
193 
329 
330 
331 
332 
333 


334 


M'Gre- 

gar. 

1590. 


147 


145 
230 


X 


301 
205 

232 


236 


220 
do. 


172 


Means  that  a  version  of  the  poem  is  preserved,  but  the  page  i 

which  are  IK 


LIST,  AND  EEFEEENCES  (seepage  142). 


Reference  to  Page  of  Printed  Books. 


HOI. 
1780. 


Gillies. 
1786. 


800 
284 
250 


85 
167,  818 
233 


Smith. 
1787. 


107 


24 

170 
39 

36,162 

•  • 

18 
309 
305 

84 


11 


250 


99 


211 


194 


Miss 

Brooke. 

1789. 

Irish. 


165 
151 


265 

•  • 

288 
27Ì 


Stewart. 
1804. 


545 


581 
558 


Turner. 
1813. 


* 


Mac- 

Callum. 

1816. 


95 
186 


150 
154, 176 
216 


132 
154 

•  • 

144 

136 
95 

164 


118 
124 
151 


own.    Other  poems  may  be  contained  in  these  manuscripts 
d. 


I 


n 


OSSIANIC  BALLADS.  4O9 


OSSLANTC  BALLADS — Eeferbncbs  to  Books,  etc. 

*  Means  thai  the  piece,  in  some  form,  is  still  current. 

1530.  Dean  MacGregor's  MSS. 

See  published  list  of  contents  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries,  1856,  and  papers  read,  24th  January  1831. 
Report  of  the  Highland  Society  on  the  poems  of  Ossian 
p.  93,  and  appendix,  302.    See  also  selections  to  be  pub- 
lished 1862. 
The  following  references  have  been  taken  from  the  other 
authorities,  but  the  selections  will  probably  give  a  full  account  of 
this  interesting  manuscript. 
Page 

25.  Demand  for  the  head  of  Gaul.  (?) 

63.  La  mob  sealg  na  Feinne,  or  Sltabh  nam  Beann  Fionn. 

Kennedy ;   the  Rev.  Francis  Stewart ;   Malcolm  Mac- 

Callum;  Macdonald  of  Staffa;  traditional.   Appears  in 

Fingal. 

*145.  Praise    of  Goll.    Gillies ;  MacCallum ;  Miss  Brooke  ; 

traditional  now. 

*147.  Diarmaid.      Dr.   Smith;  Sutherland;    Islay;    General 

Mackay ;  R.  Campbell,  advocate.    The  Islay  version 

had  Cuach  Fhinn,  which  was  rejected  as  not  historical. 

*172.  The  Bankers.  (?)  The  traditional  poem  now  current,  and 

in  Gillies. 
*205.  On  the  Heads.     MacCallum ;  mentioned  p.  302,  H.  S. 

appendix.  (?)    The  current  traditional  poem. 
*220.  Fainea80li8.    Kennedy ;  Miss  Brooke ;  H.  S.  Report,  p. 
95 ;  Maid  of  Craca  in  English  Fingal ;  not  in  the  Gaelic 
of  1807. 
*230.  Death  of  Oscar.    Kennedy;  MacDonald  of  Staffa;  H. 
S.  Report,  102  ;  traced  inTemora  (English)  (?)  Gillies  ; 
and  now  current. 
*232.  Battle  of  Gaura.  (?)    The  one  given  in  Gillies,  and  now 

current ;  traced  in  Temora. 
*236.  Cuchullin  and  Conlaooh.     Carthon  in  English  Ossian  ; 
not  in  Gaelic  of  1807  ;  Islay  ;  Miss  Brooke,  265,  268  ; 


4 1 0  WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES. 

MacCallam.      For  tbe  story,  compare  Marie's  Lays; 
Zohrab  and  Rnstam. 
•301 .  Fraoch.    Jerome  Stone,  1756 ;  Scotch  Magazine ;  H.  S. 
Report,  appendix  7 ;  compare  Bellerophon  for  the  story ; 
current  in  fragments. 

1739.  Alexander  Pope,  minister  in  the  Reay  country,  p.  53; 
appendix  iii.  H.  S.  Report. 
Erragoh  ;  in  Temora,  under  the  name  of  Dibird  fli  (?) 
Lathmore. 
•Ca  Gaur.    Death  of  Oscar. 
*Du an  Deakmot.    Dr.  Smith  ;  Diarmaid,  etc. 

1756.  Clerk's  Collection.  (?) 

1772.  Ranald  MacDonald's  collection,  printed  1772,  contains  a 
piece  which  is  in  the  Dean's  MS. ;  Antiquaries'  Transac- 
tions ;  H.  S.  Report,  p.  305 ;  subject,  four  wise  men  at 
the  grave  of  Alexander. 

1774.  Kennedy's  Collection.     List  from  p.  108,  273,  appendix, 
Highland  Society's  Report. 
*Luachar  Leothaid. 

Sgiathan  MacSgairbh. 

An  Gruagach. 

Rochd. 

Sithallan. 

Mùr  bheura. 

Tiomban. 

Sealg  na  cluana. 

Gloanncruadhach. 
*Uiri)igh  Oisein. 

Erragnn  (Battle  of  Lara). 
*Mancs  (part  of  English  Fingal). 

Maire  Borb  (Maid  of  Craca,  ditto). 
♦Cath  Seisear  (?  the  smithy). 
*Sliabh  nam  Beann  Fionn. 
♦Bas  Dheirg. 
♦Bas  Chuinn. 


OSSIANIC  BALLADS.  41  l 

High  Liur. 

Sealg  na  Leana. 
♦Dun  an  Oir  (?  the  Great  Fool.) 
♦An  Ca  dubh. 

Gleann  Biamhair. 

Conal. 
♦Bas  Cbiunlaich  (quoted  p.  116  H.  S.Keport);  MacPher- 

son ;  death  of  Cuchullin,  Smith's  Manus. 
♦Diarmad,  partly  quoted,  p.  110  H.  S.  Report. 
♦Carril. 

Bas  Ghuill  (different  from  Smith's.) 

Garaibh. 

Bas  Oscair  (Temora)  in  three  parts. 

Tairidh  nam  Fian. 

Bas  Oisein. 

1780.  Hill,  p.  50,  Report  of  the  Highland  Society,  p.  143,  ap- 
pendix, published  in  the  Gentleman's  Mag.,  afterwards 
in  a  separate  book.  Gives  Fionn's  Genealogy,  and  a 
great  deal  of  speculation. 

♦Ode  of  Oscar,  which  seems  very  like  the  traditional 
version. 

*0S8IAN    AGUS    AN   ClEIRACH,     OT    MANUS    AND    FlNGAL, 

seem  to  be  like  the  traditional  version  of  Manus. 
*Mar    Mharbh,   Diarmad  an   torc  Nimh,    Diarmaid 

and  the  boar. 
*Mar  Marbhadh  Bran  ;  Bran's  death ;  seems  to  be  the 

traditional  song. 
*Urnigh  Ossian  ;  a  bit  of  a  dialogue  between  Ossian  and 

St  Patrick.    /  have  not  been  able  to  get  this  book. 

1786.  Gillies.     Published  pieces  not  found  in  1860,  1861. 

/Sentimental.  Varying  from 
1.  Mordubh  n   I  lar  baUad8  now  cur, 

158.  Mian  a  bhaird  aosda  C  J  ^  but  Uke  „  0s8Ìan,8 

210.  Mhaline  Brughadar  J  „ 

i       poem  b» 

211.  Claidheamh  Cuchullin.     (Measured  prose.) 
278.  Ode. 

302.  Laoidh  Laomuin  Mhic  an  Uaimh-fhir. 


4 1  2  WEST  HIGHLAND  STORIES. 

260.  Clan  Usnich.    Foundation  of  Darthala ;  yery  old ; 
well  known  in  Ireland  ;  given  by  MacCaHnm,  221. 

1787.  Smith.     "  Seann  Dana."     These  are  of  a  class  between 
current  popular  ballads  and  the  published  Ossian. 
1.  Dan  an  Deirg. 
26.  Tiomna  Ghuill. 
78.  Dan  na  Duthuinn. 
*99.  Diarmad. 

This  differs  from  the  traditional,  and  from  the  manu- 
script versions. 
120.  Dan  clainne  Mhuirne. 
141.  Cath  Luine. 
158.  Cathula. 
♦194.  Cath  Mhanuis  includes  the  lay  of  the  great  fool, 
but  something  quite  different  from    the  traditional 
t  poems ;  and  the  doctor  says  he  has  rejected  much  as 

spurious  ;  a  bit  of  the  forging  of  Finn's  sword  is  given 
in  a  note,  211. 
210.  Trathuil. 
223.  Dearg  MacDruibheil. 
245.  Conn  Mac  an  Deirg. 
297.  Losga  Taura. 
317.  Cath  Lamba. 
340.  Bas  Airt. 

None  of  these  are  now  current  amongst  the  people  in 
their  published  form,  so  far  as  I  have  discovered. 

1789.  Miss  Brooke  (Irish). 

See  Report  of  the  Highland  Society  on  the  poems  of 
Ossian,  and  this  volume,  p.  101. 

1803.  MS.  Collection  by  Macdonald  of  Staffa  (Advocates'  Li- 

brary), 

Contains  Briathran  Fhinn  ri  Oscar,  p.  150,  H.  S. 
Report.     See  this  vol.,  p.  152. 

1804.  Stewart. 

1.  Prosnacha  Catha  Chloinn  Domhnuill. 
*K47.  Aireamh-Muintir  Fhin  agus  Dhubhain. 


OSSIANIC  BALLADS. 


4*3 


549.  Coradh-Murcha  MacBrian,  etc. 
554.  Duil  MacStairn. 


1816.  MacCallum. 

106.  Dan  air  Crom  Ghleann 

112.  Iamhair  Aluinn 
*140.  Cuchullin  na  Charbad  - 

153.  Colg  Shuil  is  Trathail  - 

170.  Dan  Chiothaich 
*178.  Oisian  don  Gbreinn 

181.  Ditto     ----- 

183.  Mor  Ghlan  ague  Min  Fhonn     - 

193.  Gomhrag  Fheinn  agus  Garbh  MacStairn 

196.  An  t'  Sealg  a'  s  Mo  rinn  an  Fhian 

200.  Conall  Ghulbuinn 

207.  Ursgeul  Oisian  - 

209.  Ioma  Cheist  Oisian 
*221.  Laoidh  Deirdreann        - 


Stewart. 
Page. 


590 
592 


562 


1805.  J.  Macdonald,  MS.  Collection  (Advocates'  Library). 

A  number  of  poems  are  printed  in  the  Report  of  the  Highland 
Society,  1805,  and  there  are  numerous  private  collections  written 
in  modern  times,  of  which  I  have  heard.  Their  owners  would  do 
well  to  send  them  to  the  Advocates1  Library  to  be  preserved  there 
with  the  rest  of  the  Gaelic  manuscripts,  to  which  attention  has 
been  called,  and  which  are  now  arranged  and  catalogued.  Some 
of  these  pieces  have  been  reprinted  in  the  West  of  Scotland 
Magazine,  and  were  also  translated  in  Drummond's  Irish  Min- 
strelsy* One  (I  am  told)  was  lately  made  into  a  kind  of  musical 
play,  and  acted  in  Ireland. 


•: 


1 


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J 

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r;:i 

■  ■ 


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ii.-r 


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fe  5: 


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i 


LIST  OF  STORIES 

COLLECTED   CHIEFLY   IN   SCOTLAND   AFTER  JANUARY    1859. 

— ♦ 

ENGLISH  : 

MOST  OF  THE8E  WERE   TOLD  IN  GAELIC,    AND   ARE  IN  FACT 
TRANSLATIONS  AT  FIRST  OR  SECOND  HAND. 

SUTHERLAND  COLLECTION. 

No. 

1.  The  Unwelcome  Guest. 

Heard  by  J.  F.  C.  about  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  ago,  in  Islay. 

'  A  man  invites  a  skull  to  dinner,  it  comes  as  an  old  man,  and 

is  frightened  away  by  a  particular  arrangement  of  bannocks. 

I  have  seen  a  similar  story,  but  cannot  name  the  book. — D.  D. 

2.  Donald  Duval  Mackay.     (?  Devil). 

How  lie  lost  his  shadow. 

The  Cave  of  Smoo — Fairy  threshing. 

3.  How  he  lost  his  power. 

4.  The  Great  Cave  of  Smoo  (Eastern). 

5.  Donald  and  the  Devil,  or  whatever  else  the 

creature  may  have  been  who  ate  the  griddle 
in  the  bannock. 

(This  is  to  be  found  in  the  manuscript  from  the  Highland  Society 
of  Scotland  :  attributed,  I  think,  to  Fingal.) 

6.  The  Fairy  asking  about  his  chance  of  Salvation. 

This,  or  something  like  it,  is  in  "  Croker's  Irish  Stories,"  and 
in  the  "  Popular  Superstitions  of  the  Highlands,"  in  Grant 
Stewart's,  and  seems  to  shew  that  the  Fairies  are  the  old 
Pagans,  probably  those  who  made  the  Fairy  arrow  heads. 

7.  The  Man  who  flew  with  the  Fairies. 

8.  A  Water  Spirit  "  Vougka?  translated  Kelpie. 

Is  this  the  Irish  "Phocaf" 

9.  Second  Sight— The  Road. 

This  is  a  good  instance,  and  is  probably  an  article  of  popular 
belief. 


4  1  6  LIST  OF  STORIES. 

No. 

10.  The  Funeral  Procession. 

Thin  in  the  name  as  a  story  in  Grant  8tewart's  collection,  and  is 
probably  common. 

1 1.  A  Si* co nd- night  Warning  of  Death,  and  the  Ghost 

Thin  is  like  some  in  Grant  Stewart's  collection. 

1 2.  Captain  W.  Ross  and  his  Descendant,  who  wanted  to 

see  him,  and  raised  a  whole  army. 
I  know  nothing  like  this — it  is  good. 

13.  A  Morayshire  Legend  of  a  Castle  that  sunk  into  the 

earth,  and  is  still  to  be  seen  at  the  bottom  of  a  lake. 

This  has  many  foreign  relations.  The  origin  of  the  tradition  is 
]H>rhn{>8  to  be  traced  to  the  destruction  of  the  cities  at  the 
plain. 

1  4.  The  Rotterdam. 

A  large  ship  sunk,  with  the  crew  still  alive.  The  Folge  Fond,  in 
Norway,  is  said  to  cover  seven  parishes  which  were  over- 
whelmed for  their  wickedness,  by  the  snow  and  ice.  The 
church  bells  may  still  be  heard  ringing  under  the  ice,  and  the 

Seople  will  some  day  be  restored  to  the  world. — From  a 
orwegian  peasant  in  the  Hardanger. — J.  F.  C,  1857. 

15.  A  Legend  of  Loch  Spynie. 

A  Warlock  and  his  Coachman  driving  over  the  ice— Two  Crows  on 
the  carriage. — I  do  not  know  this  one. 

16.  The  Three  Hunters  and  their  Brides. 

Viile  Lady  of  the  Lake,  which  contains  this  legend  in  an  improved 

shajve. 

17.  Tlie  Tailor  and  the  Skeleton. 

Common  in  Argyllshire  and  the  Isle  of  Man. 

1 8.  The  Wakes  of  Loch  Manaar — a  talisman.   Clacli  Buaidh. 

19.  The  Tree  Witness. 

20.  The  Jewel  of  Ben  Stack. 

Common  in  Argyllshire. 

21.  The  Erse  version  of  Jack  the  Giant  Killer. 

It  resembles  the  Norse — It  is  the  best  of  the  collection. 

2  2.  Superstitions — Instance  of : Gamekeeper. 

23.  The  Sea,  and  drowned  and  murdered  people. 

24.  Wraith  choosing  boards  for  a  dying  man. 

25.  Death  Struggle. 

26.  Passing,  and  funeral  bell. 

27.  Cathedrals  expected  to  fall. 


LIST  OF  STORIES.  4I7 


No. 

28.  Babes. 


30i }  BabeS' 

31.  Spirits  of  friends  haunting  a  house  looked  on  as  a 

reason  for  remaining  in  the  place. 

32.  The  lost  Wedding  Ring— The  Witch— The  Demon— 

The  Escape. 

A  Legend  which  is  unlike  any  I  know,  and  good. 

33.  Honeysuckle — Charm  against  evil. 

34.  Evil  eye,  and  those  who  suffer  from  it. 

35.  Cure  of  Evil  eye — by  boiling  stones  in  water — still 

prevalent. 

36.  Verses  of  Scripture  as  charms. 

In  Iceland  it  is  a  custom  to  open  the  Bible  by  chance  to  find  out 
the  result  of  some  undertaking.  I  tried  it,  and  it  came  right, 
in  1861. 

Instances  of  Voghes  being  seen.    Fuath  is  the  Gaelic 
word. 

These  three  have  no  story ;  they  are  but  appearances  believed  in. 

40.  Phantom  armies  commonly  seen. 

41.  Snow  never  lies  on  the  ground  where  the  blood  of  a 

murdered  woman  was  spilt. 

42.  The  Lord's  Prayer  a  protection  against  evil. 

43.  Magical  disappearance  of  a  Witch. 

44.  The  Holy  Virgin  and  the  Black  Beetle. 

This  is  a  very  good  Legend,  and  is  unknown  to  me ;  it  is  in  Irish. 

45.  A  Rhyme. 

46.  Saint  Gilbert  and  the  Dragon. 

Something  like  St.  George  and  the  Dragon;  and  like  the  Sea 
Maiden,  but  not  so  good. 

47.  The  Boar  of  Ben  LaighaL     Diarmaid  and  Grainne. 

48.  Things  Lucky  and  Unlucky. 

49.  The  Golden  Horse  of  Loch  na  Gillie.     Each  uisge. 

Widely  spread. 
VOL.  IV.  2  E 


41  8  LIST  OF  STORIES. 

No. 

50.  The  Otter  King — common  in  Argyllshire. 

51.  Mr.  Alexander  Fraser's  Pilgrimage. 

Good ;  contains  the  incident  of  the  ring. 

52.  Salamander. 

53.  The  Hour  and  the  Man. 

54.  Poetical  Sayings. 

55.  The  Demon  Angler — an  appearance. 

56.  The  Herds  of  Sallochie. 

A  Kelpie — well  known  in  books,  and  widely  spread. 

57.  The  Death  of  Sweno. 

This  is  probably  the  tradition  of  a  fact  in  the  history  of  None 
invasions — I  know  nothing  quite  like  it. 

58.  The  Dun  Otter,  called  Doar-chu. 

59.  Why  the  Wolf  is  stumpy  tailed. 

Well  known  in  Norway  and  in  Central  Africa  in  various  shapes. 

60.  The  Bogie  Roschan. 

A  kind  of  Brownie  well  known  all  over  Germany  and  elsewhere, 
though  I  know  nothing  quite  like  this. 

61.  The  Dragon  of  Loch  Corrie  Mohr. 

62.  The  Dragons  of  Loch  Merkland. 

63.  The  Stupid  Boy. 

This  is  known  in  Ross  and  in  Argyllshire.  It  is  one  of  the 
Highland  stories,  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  never  been 
published.  There  is  more  of  it  which  should  not  be  inquired 
for.     1  have  two  Gaelic  versions,  got  elsewhere. 

64.  The  Unjust  Sentence. 

Very  good.  It  has  a  resemblance  to  a  tale  in  the  Arabian  Nights, 
but  I  do  not  think  it  is  taken  from  that  source. 

65.  Lauchlin,  Dhumohr,  and  the  Witch. 

I  know  nothing  quite  like  this. 

66.  The  Sleeping  Giants. 

This  is  known  all  over  the  United  Kingdom,  in  all  manner  of 
shapes.  It  has  come  to  me  from  four  or  five  quarters,  and 
this  differs  from  the  rest. 

67.  The  Giant  in  Barra. 

This  also  is  well  known,  and  belongs  to  British  Mythology. 

68.  The  Vaugh,  the  Poacher,  and  the  Dog.     (Ftjath.) 

I  have  something  like  this  from  Barra. 

69.  The  Vaugh  of  the  Laxford. 


LI8T  OF  STORIES.  4I9 

No. 

70.  Something  about  a  Mermaid. 

This  is  common  in  Germany,  in  Ireland,  in  Islay,  and  elsewhere, 
in  all  sorts  of  shapes.  Some  noble  family,  I  forget  which, 
claims  to  be  descended  from  the  mermaid.  Thomas  the 
Rhymer  was  said  to  have  been  the  son  of  the  mermaid. 

71.  The  Caillach  Mhor  of  Clibreck. 

This  tale  looks  very  like  a  recollection  of  the  Lapps  and  their  deer. 

72.  The  Mhor  Bhain. 

This  is  probably  a  tradition  of  a  Witch  trial. 

73.  Fach  Mor. 

This  is  one  of  the  Gaelic  Legends  which  seem  to  have  been  almost 
forgotten  on  the  east  coast  of  Scotland,  and  which  are  well 
known  in  the  west.  It  is  an  extraordinary  jumble  of  every- 
thing,— King  Arthur,  Thor  in  Norse  Mythology,  Theseus, 
Hercules,  Circe,  and  the  Bible,  may  all  be  traced ;  and  yet, 
when  this  tale  was  told,  it  probably  contained  traits  which 
proved  it  to  be  a  native  of  Sutherland,  as  those  which  come 
from  the  Islands  prove  themselves  to  be  islanders.  There 
are  plenty  of  these  tales  in  Gaelic  MSS. ;  their  origin  is  worth 
searching  out. 

74.  The  Callach  Mhor.  Vol.  II,  XXVII. 

75.  A  Badenoch  Fairy. 

This  is  told  in  Norway ;  I  remember  to  have  read  it  in  a  Norse 
book,  at  a  station,  while  waiting  for  horses. 

76.  The  Assyindach's  Mistakes  .     .  Vol.  II,  XLVIIL 

77.  The  Fox  and  the  Wrens  .     .     .  Vol.  I.,  XVIIa. 

78.  The  Fox  and  the  Fox-hunter    .  VoL  L,  XVIIa. 

79.  The  Great  White  Snake  .     .     .  Vol.  II.,  XLVH. 

80.  The  Vougha's  Charcoal   .     .     .  Vol.  II,  XXXVII. 
81  and  82.  Holy  Wells    ....  Vol.  II.,  XXXIH. 
83  and  84.  Of  Banshees  ....  VoL  II,  XXXVIII. 
8  5.  The  Vangh  of  Moulin  na  Fougha  Vol.  II.,  XXXVIII. 

86.  The  Brolachan Vol.  II,  XXXVIII. 

87.  The  Herds  of  Glen  Onar      .     .     Vol.  I.,  Introduction. 

88.  Farquar  the  Physician     .     .     .     Vol.  II.,  XLVIL 

A  version  of  this  is  given  in  Chambers'  Nursery  Rhymes ;  it  is 
told  in  Islay,  well  known  in  Mull.  The  man  was  Beaton, 
physician  to  a  Scotch  king,  I  think  James  VI.  His  MSS. 
are  preserved  in  the  Advocates'  Library  in  Edinburgh.  The 
story  is  in  Norway,  in  an  old  MS.,  and  may  be  traced  in  the 
story  of  iEsculapius. 

89.  The  Fox  and  the  Cock  and  Hen     Vol.  I.,  XVIIa. 


42  O  LIST  OF  STORIES. 

No. 

90.  The  Fox  and  the  Goose      .     .     VoL  L,  XVIIfl. 

1)1.  The  Last  Giant. 

TiiiH  jh  like  a  published  tale  found  in  Ireland ;  like  two  versions 
heard  in  Uist  by  J.  F.  C,  and  one  written  down  in  Barn. 
It  if*  probably  founded  on  the  MS.  of  the  dialogue  of  Osaian 
and  St.  Patrirk,  or  on  something  still  older.  The  birds  are 
generally  deer.  The  word  which  means  Black  Bird  in  Gaelic 
may  also  mean  Black  Elk. 


STORIE8  FROM  DONALD  MUNRO,  Esq.,  ChAMBERLAYNE  OF 

Lewis. 

92.  A  Champion.     (Popular  History.) 

93.  Water  Horses.     Each  uisge. 

94.  Gruagach.     Brownie. 

95.  A  Supernatural  Woman. 

96.  Water  Horse. 

Same  as  Miss  M'Leod's  story  from  Skye. 


From  John  Campbell,  Esq.  of  Kilberry. 

97.  Water  Horses  and  Bogles.     (Good.) 

98.  The  Boobrie.     Large  bird. 

99.  Boobrie  as  Water-Horse. 

Somewhat  like  the  ploughing  of  the  Asa.    Norse  Mythology. 

100.  Boobrie  as  Water-Bull. 

Letter  from  Kilberry.    Another  story  from  the  same  collector  is 
printed. 

101.  Donald  MacRae  and  the  Witch. 

Letter  from  Kilberry. 

102.  Letter  from  Urquhart, — Large  Fish. 

103.  Large  Skate  (Craken.) 

104.  Large  Salmon. 

105.  Large  Cormorant. 

106.  Mr.  B and  the  Water-Horse.     True,  J.  F.  C. 

107.  Letter  from  Hector  Fraser  to  Hector  Urquhart. 

Gruagach— Water-horse— Gaelic  Story — Fairies. 


LIST  OF  STORIES.  42  I 

No. 

From  the*  Rev.  Thomas  Pattieson.     Another  of  his 

storie8  is  printed. 

108.  Flying  Ladies  from  the  Isle  of  Youth. 

109.  Myself. 

Shortened  and  printed.    Ditto. 

110.  The  Mermaid  Bride. 

This  in  various  shapes  is  well  known ;  the  latter  part  resembles 
the  story  of  the  Wizard  of  Alderley. 

111.  The  Glasgow  Merchant. 

A  kind  of  Whittington  story ;  I  have  it  in  many  shapes. 

112.  Letter  From  Hugh  M'Lean — Kilhamuig,  Tarbert — 

The  Mermaid. 

113.  The  Mermaid.     (Ossianic  English.) 


From  Hugh  MacColl,  Gardener  at  Craigforth. 

114.  Ossian.     (Genuine  Legend.) 

115.  The  Old  Man  and  the  Sleepy  Giants. 

Common.    Compare  No.  110  and  Alderley  Story. 

116.  Fionn's  Dogs.     (Ossianic,  genuine.) 

117.  Fionn's  Dogs.     (Ossianic,  genuine.) 

118.  The  Packman  and  the  Laird.      (Witchcraft.)       See 

Gaelic,  275. 

119.  Cairn  Dearg.     (Popular  History — Good.) 

120.  The  Brownie,  and  the  Laird  of  Loch  Awe,  and  the  Letter. 

121.  The  Witch  and  the  Horse  Hair  Rope. 


122.  Stories  from  a  Clergyman. 

Got  from   E.    Campbell   of  Ardpatrick,.  Enchanted  Piper. — 
Common. 

1 23.  Nuts  and  Ghost. 

Same  as  the  Norse  story  of  Goosey  Grizzle.    A  version  told  by  a 
tinker  in  London. 


124.  Mermaid. 

From  Thomas  MacDonald,  Gamekeeper,  Dunrobin,  Sutherland. 
Another  of  his  stories  is  printed. 


422  LIST  OF  8TOBIES. 

No. 

125.  Stories  from    John  Boos,  Lord  Lovatfs  Forester. 

(Spelling  copied — Ghost) 

126.  The  Man  that  the  Cow  ate. 


From  the  Minister  of  North  Ronaldshat. 

127.  Orcadian  Superstitions. 

128.  Saining  and  Ceremonies  at  Births. 

1 29.  Crossing  the  Path. 

130.  Crows. 

131.  Crows. 

132.  Frogs.     133.  Witch  and  Fisherman.     134.  Milk. 
135.  Fowl  Buried  Alive.     136.  Bible  and  Corpse. 

137.  Bible  and  Key. 

138.  Scotch  Proverbs,  46  in  number. 

139   to   166.  From  Lady    C C ,    mostly  from 

memory. 

149.  Black  Bull  o'  Norway. 

Referred  to  in  a  Letter. 

150.  Letter  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Anderson. 

163.  Brownie. 

164.  Scotch  Tunes. 

165.  French  Anecdote. 

166.  The  Mantle  Jo. 

A  pretty  child's  song,  old,  popular;  has  relatives  in  Norse, 
Gaelic,  and  Chinese. 

„      Letter  from  Lady  C ,  22d  June  1859. 


167.  A  regular  heroic  Highland  play,  written  by  John  Clerk,  game- 
keeper to  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  at  Roseneath.  I  have  never 
heard  a  tale  so  told  by  an  old  man,  but  they  are  very  dramatic, 
and  this  is  probably  an  old  sguelachd  dramatized  by  a  game- 
keeper. If  John  Clerk  had  been  Shakespear,  this  would 
have  become  a  play ;  if  MacPherson,  it  would  have  taken  the 
form  of  an  Epic  poem.  It  is  curious  as  showing  the  growth 
of  a  popular  tale. 


LIST  OF  STORIES.  423 

No. 

168.  Written  from  memory  by  J.  F.  C,  Tailor  and  Bogle. 

This  is  common  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  etc. 

169.  MacArthur's  Head. 

170.  Great  Cave  at  Bolsa. 

A  piper  goes  with  a  dog  to  explore  a  large  cave.  The  dog  comes 
out  at  a  great  distance,  with  the  hair  rubbed  or  singed  off 
his  body.  The  piper  is  heard  playing,  but  never  reappears. 
Commonly  told  of  caves  and  underground  passages  in  the 
Scilly  Isles,  South  of  Ireland,  Cantyre,  Islay,  East  Lothian. 
In  short,  wherever  there  is  a  cave  and  a  Celtic  population. 
?  JSneas  and  the  Sybil,  and  Cerberus,  Cupid  and  Psyche, 
etc.  etc. 

171.  MacPharlan's  Geese. 

172.  Holy  Wells  and  Frog  Story.     (Printed.) 

173.  Alderley  Play  regularly  acted  every  Christmas. 

174.  Water  Horse. 

Got  in  Skye. 

175.  The  Ghostly  Duel 

Got  in  Skye. 

176  and  177.  Gaelic 

Copied  by  one  who  does  not  understand  'the  language.  I  can 
make  it  out,  but  I  question  if  any  one  less  used  to  queer 
spelling  would  know  what  was  meant ;  it  is  the  Gaelic  of  the 
same  tales  as  174  and  175. 

178  to  185.  A  lot  of  Anecdotes  from  Airth,  the  Duke  of 
Argyll's  Messenger,  when  he  was  Postmaster- 
General 

This  is  a  tall  strapping  Highlander  from  the  east  country,  a 
capital  fisherman. 

186  to  200.  Written  from   memory   by   J.   F.    Campbell, 

January  1858. 

186.  Black  Kitchen  Jack. 

Heard  as  a  child.    (Popular  novel.) 

187.  The  Man  on  Laggan  Sand. 

Like  Washington  Irving's  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow,  I  have  several 
other  versions  of  it 

188.  A  Gloss  upon  Bird  Language. 

189.  Dr.  Beaton  and  the  Snake. 

From  memory ;  see  Sutherland  story  which  was  got  after  this 
had  been  written  down.    (See  No.  88.) 


424  UBT  OF  STORIES. 

No. 

190.  Sun,  and  Bain,  and  Fairies. 

191.  The  Woman  and  the  Lobster.     (Popular  Wit) 

192.  The  Lassie  and  the  Skull. 

8eu  No.  I.,  Sutherland  Collection. 

193.  Sgrioch  na  Caillich — Jura  legend. 

194.  Jura  Fleas. 

195.  The  great  Eel  in  Lossit  Lake.    Very  common  belief. 

196.  A  Letter,  3d  December  1842. 

197.  A  Letter  and  Poem  in  English  on  Cony  Bhreacan. 

198.  The  Legend  of  Slochd  Mhaol  Dhori 

199.  The  Fisherman  and  the  Saint.     Common  in  Ireland. 

200.  The  Princess  Eila. 

201.  Anecdote.     202.   Dream.     203.  Rousseau's  Dream. 

204.  Saying. 

(Mrs.  M'Tavish.) 

205.  The  White  Pet  Sheep. 

206.  Old  Saw.     (From  memory,  J.  F.  C.) 

206«.  The  King  of  Lochlin.     (From  memory,  see  125. 
J.  F.  C.) 

207.  A  New  Years'  Rhyme.  (Ditto.) 

Mrs.  Jf'Tavishyfrom  208  to  248. 

208.  Proverbs.     209.  Weather. 

210.  Dan  an  Dearg. 

211.  Translation  of  the  Song. 

212.  Diarmid.     (Story.) 

212a.  Fairies — Dunbhuilg.     Very  widely  spread. 

213.  Fairies  Reaping. 

214.  Fairies  Stealing  People. 

215.  Fairies. 


LIST  OF  STORIES.  425 

No. 

215a.  Fairies — Gaolin  Castle. 

216.  The  King's  Children. 

A  very  good  version  of  the  story  in  the  Leabhar  Nan  Cnoc. 

217.  The  Man  with  the  Loose  Gray  Coat. 

A  very  good  story,  something  like  the  story  of  Murdoch  M'Brian. 

218.  Dunbhuilg  Fairies. 

219.  John  of  the  Little  Head. 

220.  Another  Version  of  the  Same. 

(See  the  Man  on  Laggan  Sand.) 

221.  Maoll  DorrL 

(See  Ante,  19S)A 

222.  The  Piper  in  the  Cave. 

This  is  a  curious  story,  because  it  is  so  widely  spread  in  Celtic 
districts  of  the  Kingdom.  I  have  heard  it  in  the  Scilly 
Islands,  in  Ireland,  and  elsewhere. 

223.  St.  Patrick  and  the  Snakes. 

224.  Texa  carried  from  Ireland  by  a  Giantess. 

225.  Some  account  of  Breacan,  Prince  of  Norway.     How 

he  killed  a  dragon  which  infested  Islay ;  all  the 
localities  are  pointed  out. 

226.  Another  story  of  the  same.     How  he  was  drowned 

in  Corrie  Bhreacan. 

I  have  known  these  two  myself  from  childhood. 

227.  Story  of  Eila. 

228.  Gloss  upon  Bird  Language. 

229.  Proverb. 

230.  Remarks  on  Weather. 

(Spelling  due  in  some  degree  to  the  Copyist) 

231.  Weather  Sayings. 

232.  Ditto. 

233.  Ditto.     234.  Ditto.     235.  Ditto.     236.  Ditto. 
237.  Ditto.     238.  Ditto. 

239.  The  Raven.     240.  The  Weather. 
241.  Large  Eel  (See  195).     242.  Cuckoo. 


426  LIBT  OF  STORIES. 

No. 

243.  Dr.  Beaton.     (See  189.) 

244  and  245.  Two  Stories  of  the  same  Personage. 

246.  Story  of  the  Old  Woman  who  slid  down  the  Hills  of 

Jura. 

247.  Song  about  the  same. 

248.  Proverbs,  4. 

249  to  273.  Letter  from  Minuter  of  North  Ronaldshay, 

Orkney,  and  Stories, 
250.  The  Sealchies. 


This  is  a  widely-spread  tradition  all  over  the  Islands.    John 

-    -  -    ■        e  It  to  _'  "  ' 

>k,au 
it  is"  clearly  the  same  as  the  mermaid  stories  of  which  I  hare 


Rochfort  gave  it  to  me,  and  said  he  had  got  it  from  a  game- 
in  Harris. 


keeper  in  Harris.    I  think  it  is  in  Grant  Stewart's  Book,  and 

itiscl      "  ■"  

many. 

251.  Sealchie  Song. 

252.  Letter  from  the  Minister. 

253.  Fairies. 

254.  Bogles. 

255.  The  Smith  of  Barrigar  and  Tangie. 

This,  and  250,  may  fit  in  with  the  Islay  story  of  the  man  who  was 
begotten  by  a  seal,  which  bears  upon  a  German  romance. 

256.  More  about  Tangie. 

257.  Mysterious  Light 

259.  Fairies. 

260.  Selkie  Sherry. 

261.  Superstitions.     262.  Large  Fish.    263,  264.  Witches, 

or  Evil  Eye.     265.  Dog  Howling. 

266.  Courtship  "  langer."     267.  Courtship. 

268.  Evil  Spirit. 

(Curious— well  told.) 

269.  Exposing  Children. 

270.  Charms,  Gun,  etc. 

271.  Old  Custom  at  Burials. 


LIST  OP  8TORIES.  427 

No. 

272.  Witchcraft. 

A  long  story. 

273.  Note  on  the  MSS.  and  Glossary  of  Curious  Words. 

274.  Dunbhuilg  Fairies. 

Story  from  Hugh  Maclean,  got  by  James  Campbell  of  Ardpatrick, 
Argyllshire. 

Stories  from  Gairloch.    Got  by  0.  H.  Mackenzie. 

275.  The  Soldier. 

A  version  of  Bolgam  Mor.    Very  like  Grimm. 

276.  Story  about  a  Minister. 

277.  Story  of  a  Weaver. 

278.  Senn  (a  poem). 

(The  spelling  belongs  to  the  Scribe.) 

279.  The  Wife  of  Laggan. 

(See  Grant  Stewart.) 

280.  Fairy  Tale. 

281.  Letter  from  £.  Campbell. 

Stories  from  a  Clergyman  in  Argyllshire. 

282.  Fairies. 

283.  The  Dead  rising  and  grinning. 

BADENOCH. 

Stories  from  a  Clergyman.  Got  through  the 

Hon.  T.  Bruce. 

284.  Fairies.  Ì 

285.  Ditto. 

286.  Ditto. 

287.  Ditto. 

[-These  are  well  told,  genuine  and  popular. 

288.  Ditto.   ' 

289.  Ditto. 

290.  Ditto. 

291.  Ditto. 


4*8  LIST  OF  STORIES. 

No. 

292.  Letter  from  A  Campbell  of  Blythswood,  sending  a 

Legend. 

293.  Legend  of  St  Convalhts. 

From  the  Breviary  of  Aberdeen. 

294.  Letter  from  CHARLES  EDWARD  upon  the  Ossianic 

controversy. 

295.  The  Brownie. 

A  Poein  from  Galloway. 


Journals  and  Stories  collected  by  J.  F.  Campbell 

in  1859  and  1860. 

296.  Cath  nan  Eun — Easter,  1859 — Ferry  Boat,  Loch 

Fyne. 

297.  A  lot  of  Miscellaneous  Notes  used  in  the  Introduction. 

298.  The  Tinker— April  25th. 

Incantation — very  good. 

299.  Sheen  Billv. 

From  the  old  Tinker. 

300.  The  Contradictory  Wife.     (Popular  novel.) 

John  Mackenzie. 

301.  Party  at  the  Miller's  House,  Inverary. 

302.  "  Conall."     (Gillies.) 

303.  The  Uruisg  and  Farmer's  Daughter. 

This  is  almost  the  same  as  a  story  in  Straparola.  It  is  also  in 
some  old  English  jest  book.  I  believe  it  is  a  Lapp  story.  It 
is  witty,  and  unfit  for  publication  now-a-days. 

304.  Smeuran  dubh  s  an  Fhaoilteach.     (Tinker.)     Good — 

long. 

305.  The  Fox.     (Tinker.)     Good— long. 

306.  The  Beetle.     (Mackenzie.) 

This  is  a  very  curious  story,  in  which  a  king's  son  slays  a  great 
beetle,  Daol,  in  an  island,  and  a  bit  of  the  skin  sticks  on  his 
hand.    No  other  version  got,  1802. 

307.  The  Bee.     (Tinker.)     Good,  but  cannot  be  published* 


LIST  OF  STORIES.  42  9 

No. 

Old  Mary  Mac  Vicar,  Inverary. 

308.  Fraoch.     Poem — fragment. 

309.  The  Duke  of  Argyll's  Dairy  Maid  and  Wild  Calf. 

(Popular  History.) 

310.  Rob  Roy — Anecdotes  of  1dm.     Ditto. 

311.  The  Eagle  and  Child. 

Same  as  the  legend  of  the, Stanly  Crest. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  MacCalman. 

312.  MacPherson  and  Ossian. 

Summer  Trip  to  the  Long  Island. 

313.  The  Cow's  legs  and  Col  Kitto. 

314.  The  Three  Questions. 

315.  The  Smith's  Apprentice — Master  Thief. 

316.  Popular  History. 

317.  Old  Saying  of  Birds. 

318.  Fairy  Eggs — Ossian's  Poems — Appearance  of  the 

Country. 

319.  The  Piper's  Story. 

320.  The  Dunbhuilg  Story. 

321.  The  Men  Dancing  in  a  HilL 

322.  The  Strong  Miller. 

323.  The  Gael  came  from  Eirinn. 

324.  Clan  Donald  came  from  EHtiti. 

325.  Country  possessed  by  the  Lochliners. 

326.  Old  MacPhie— Conal  Gulban. 

327.  Morag  a  chota  bhain. 

328.  Mother's  Blessing. 

329.  The  Widow's  Son  the  Hunter. 


430  LIST  OF  8TOBIE8. 

9 

So. 

330.  Note  on  the  Spread  of  Stories. 

331.  The  Slim-Waisted  Giant    Same  as  u  Red  Etm.w 

332.  Murachag  and  Mionachag. 

333.  Rann  Colin. 

334.  Old  Building  in  Uist 

335.  Popular  History. 

From  a  relation  of  Clanronald,  a  herd. 

337.  Patrick  Smith. 

338.  The  Fisherman. 

(Written  by  MacLean  afterwards.) 

339.  Sailor  and  Sweetheart 

(Popular  romance,  written  by  MacLean  afterwards.) 

340.  Ossianic  Poem. 

pitto.) 

341.  Polchar  Inn  and  Smith's  Cottage. 

342.  A  Song  got. 

343.  The  Maiden  without  hands. 

A  very  good  version — differs  from  Grimm. 

344.  Monday  Sept.  5th,  1859. 

Dance— Reciters— Hear  of  Old  MacPbie. 

345.  Young  Scottish  Lord. 

346.  Mermaid.     Same  as  Urquharfs  version  'marly. 

347.  Naked  Sword  Incident     Common. 

348.  The  Collier's  Son. 

Origin  of  the  story  "  MacPhie."    Common. 

349.  The  Widow's  Son.     Common. 

350.  MacPhie's  Cottage. 

351.  The  Three  Wise  Men. ' 

352.  The  Inheritance.  Donald  Maclntyre, 

353.  Conal  Gulbanach.  Benbecula. 

354.  Ossianic  Poem. 

(Written  by  M'Lean  and  Torrie  afterwards.) 


LIST  OF  STORIES.  43  I 

No. 

No  regular  journal  was  kept  after.  Walked  back  to  Lochmaddy 
—drove  to  the  Sound  of  Harris  where  I  found  a  lady  from 
Wapping  domiciled  with  her  husband,  a  sailor — sailed  to 
Harris — walked  in  two  days  to  Stornoway — found  the  people 
more'8ophisticated,  more  used  to  strangers,  and  shyer  of  me— 
— sailed  to  Gairloch — staid  there  for  a  few  days  at  the  inn ; 
notes  of  the  proceedings  are  in  the  introduction— made  my 
way  to  Dingwall — visited  friends  and  came  south  to  the 
work  of  the  Lighthouse  Commission. 

Trip  to  the  hie  of  Man,  April  1860. — Language. 

355.  The  three  legs  of  Man,  etc.  etc. 
Fires,  etc. 

356.  Drift  Log.     The  Glashan. 

357.  Glashans.     The  Fluke. 

The  most  of  this  is  worked  into  the  introduction  to  West  High- 
land Tales. 

358.  Ì  Eight  stories  told  by  William  and  Soloman  Johns, 
366.  J       two  gipsy  tinkers  picked  up  in  London.     They 

came  to  the  office  after  hours,  and  were  treated 
to  beer  and  tobacco.  Present — the  author  of 
Norse  Tales.  They  were  rather  hard  to  start, 
but  when  once  set  agoing  they  were  fluent.  One 
brother  was  very  proud  of  the  other,  who  plays 
the  fiddle  by  ear,  and  is  commonly  sent  for  to 
wakes,  where  he  entertains  the  company  with 
stories.  He  gave  us,  1.  A  ghost,  which  appeared 
to  himself.  Finding  that  he  was  on  the  wrong 
track,  told  him  a  popular  tale  which  I  had  got 
from  another  tinker  in  London  "  The  Cutler  and 
Tinker."  Got  2.  "  The  lad  and  the  dancing  pigs." 
This  is  the  same  as  the  "Mouse  and  Bee," 
and  has  something  of  Hacon  Grizzlebeard.  A 
version  of  it  was  told  to  me  by  Donald  MacPhie 
in  South  Uist.  It  is  one  of  the  few  indecent 
stories  which  I  have  heard  in  the  Highlands. 
There  are  adventures  with  a  horse,  a  lion,  and  a 
fox,  which  the  London  tinker  had  not  got  It 
savours  of  the  wit  which  is  to  be  found  in 
Straparola. 


43 2  U8T  OF  STORIES. 

No. 

3.  A  Bailor  and  others,  by  the  help  of  a  magic  black- 
thorn stick,  go  to  three  castles  under  ground,  copper, 
silver,  and  gold,  and  win  three  princesses.  Same  as, 
"  the  king  of  Lochlin's  daughters,"  and  "  the  knight 
of  Grianoig,*'  and  several  stories  in  Norse  Tales  and 
Grimm. 

4.  "  The  five  hunchbacks."  This  story  was  quite  new 
to  I  Kith  of  us,  but  a  version  of  it  was  subsequently 
found  in  a  book  of  Cruickshank's.  The  tinker's 
version  was  much  better. 

5.  A  long  and  very  well  told  story  of  a  Jew,  in  which 
there  figured  a  magic  strap,  hat,  etc,  same  as  Big 
and  Little  Peter,  Eoghan  luarach  ;  a  story  in  Strapa- 
rola,  etc. 

(5.  The  art  of  doctoring — dirty  wit 

7.  Poor  student  and. block  man  travel — dig  up  dead 
woman — make  fire  in  church — steal  sheep— clerk — 
parson — take  black  man  for  fiend  and  bolt  Very 
well  told.  See  Goosey  Grizzle  and  several  Gaelic 
versions. 

8.  Poor  student,  parson,  and  man,  with  cat  which  was 
the.  fiend  in  disguise.     "Well  told  ;  new  to  both  of  us. 

The  men  said  that  they  knew  a  great  many  more ;  that  they 
could  neither  read  nor  write ;  that  they  picked  these  up  at 
waken  and  other  meetings,  where  such  tales  are  commonly 
told  in  England  now. 

308.  A  lot  of  notes  collected  in  September  1860,  during 
a  trip  to  Glenquoich,  Skye,  Uist,  Barra,  etc 
Many  of  these  are  preserved  as  notes  in  an  inter- 
leaved copy  of  West  Highland  Tales  (vols.  i.  ii.) 
Notes  of  a  dinner  given  at  Inverary  to  Dewar, 
Macnuir,  Gillies,  Mackenzie,  The  Miller,  The  Tinker, 
and  others  (Mr.  Robertson  present)  ;  the  whole 
party  told  stories,  and  parted  quietly  and  3oberly 
at  midnight  exactly,  on  Saturday  night  Under 
this  number  are  included  some  fifty  or  sixty  long 
stories,  some  of  which  were  not  written  down. 


LIST  OF  STORIES.  433 

No. 

369.  Letter  from  Mr.  Fraser  of  Mould,  August  2,  1861, 

mentioning  a  lad  who  knows  a  great  many  stories. 
1.  Magnus  MacRigh  na  Albain  (a  long  one).  2. 
An  t  Uirsgeul  Mor  (a  very  long  one),  of  this  I  have 
several  versions.  3.  Finn  M'Cuile  (probably  a 
Fenian  legend).  4.  Caileach  Uileam  dean  Suidhe 
(a  short  one),  probably  a  story  which  I  know  well, 
about '  William  Sit  Down,  which  is  in  Norse  in 
another  shape. 

370.  Collection   sent  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Pattieson, 

(letter). 

371.  1.  From  a  native  of  Islay  who  lives  in  Glasgow,  a 

story  of  a  man  who  is  beset  by  a  female  water- 
spirit.  This  is  curious,  because  it  was  told  me  by 
an  Irish  carman  at  Waterford.  The  locality  and 
some  details  altered.  A  stallion  overcame  the 
Islay  sprite,  and  a  big  dog  finished  her.     Good. 

372.  A  story  of  fairies  stealing  a  man's  whisky,  and  the 

man  himself.     A  very  good  fairy  tale. 

373.  Glenastil  water-horses  ridden  to  market.     A  good 

instance  of  this  popular  belief. 

374.  A  dialogue  between  a  woman  and  a  fairy  in  Gaelic, 

like  the  spirit  of  many  popular  tales.  Ready 
answers. 

375.  Letter,  December  24,  1860,  about  Lachlan  Mac- 

Neil,  who  told  a  number  of  capital  stories ;  he  is 
a  shoemaker  and  fiddler,  and  lives  in  Paisley. 

376.  A  Fairy  Changeling,  very  well  told,  traced  back  for 

three  generations. 

377.  Ard  na  'h  uamh  loch — Water  horses— dun  coloured — 

ridden  to  market — torn  to  pieces  by  the  rest  on  his 
return.  "Water  bulls,  said  to  be  now  extinct,  but 
to  have  existed  long  ago. 

378.  See  371. 

vol.  iv.  2  F 


434  LIST  OF  8TORIE& 

No. 

379.  Iain  Ciar,  Dun  John  of  Dunolly.     Popular  history ;  a 

very  good  legend,  of  a  very  old  date.  The  hero 
is  outlawed  and  gains  his  pardon  by  bringing  the 
head  of  a  robber  from  Ireland  to  London  to  the 
king.  The  narrator  added  that  in  these  dayB  the 
kings  lived  a  good  deal  at  York,  and  he  was  not 
sure  if  the  head  went  to  London  or  to  York. 

380.  Sgeul  Alostair  Arranach.     A  bit  of  popular  history, 

wild  and  well  told. 

381.  A  Legend  of  the  Island  in  the  Ehinns  of  Islay. 

382.  Supernatural  history,  water-bulls,  etc*,  as  described 

by  the  people. 

383.  Bull  fights  water-horses.    Nearly  the  same  as  a  story 

got  from  Kilberry. 

384.  The  origin  of  the  name  cnoc  Angil  (in  Islay).    The 

Feinne  appear  in  this,  and  an  old  woman  who 
runs  off  with  their  arms. 

385.  Appearance  of  a  mysterious  personage  on   Laggan 

Sand. 

386.  A  legend    of  a    stream  near  Bowmore.     A  goblin 

appears  to  some  wrecked  sailors  as  a  pig,  a  wolf, 
an  old  woman,  and  a  ball  of  fire  (letter  January 
28,  1861). 

387.  Collection  sent  December  3, 1860.     1.  Taoghairm;  a 

man  raises  the  fiend  and  challenges  all  that  are 
dead  or  alive  in  the  sea  to  fight.  He  is  saved  by 
women  who  are  making  Tein  'eigin,  forced  fire. 

388.  The  legend  which  is  told  of  Cawdor  Castle :  A  man 

builds  his  house  where  an  ass's  tether  breaks,  and 
prospers  ;  he  goes  to  a  bridge  and  is  there  told 
that  where  the  peg  of  the  ass's  tether  is  fixed  there 
is  a  pot  of  gold.  The  old  thorn  tree  where  the 
man  stopped  stands  in  a  cellar  at  Cawdor  Castle.  In 
this  the  man's  name  is  Caonneach  brath  na  brathin, 
and  the  place  is  not  named. 


LIST  OF  STORIES.  43  $ 

No. 

389.  A  shoemaker  flies  to  London  from  Coleraine.      (I 

don't  know  this  legend). 

390.  The  Doideag  Mhuileach's  daughter,  Mogan  Dubh  and 

her  son.    A  legend  of  witchcraft  and  flying  through 
the  air  to  steaL     (Very  popular.) 

391.  A  woman  and  a  frog.     There  is  something  like  this 

in  the  Mabinogion  told  of  a  mouse,  but  the  Welsh 
story  is  very  long. 

392.  A  smuggler  sees  a  lot  of  little  people  about  as  big  as 

a  bottle,  with  teeth  as  long  as  his  finger.     Fairies  ? 
or  Lusbirdean. 

393  to  402.  A  lot  of  stories  got  from  a  carman  in  Water- 
ford  in  1861,  included — 1.  The  water-cow  and 
her  progeny.  2.  The  Bansithe,  which  the  narrator 
"  had  seen  and  heard."  3.  A  version  of  the  man 
who  travelled  to  learn  shivering.  4.  A  haunted 
tower.  5.  Treasure  finding.  6.  A  spirit  haunting 
a  road  and  asking  for  a  ride.  7.  A  lake  spirit 
8.  The  man  and  dog  in  the  subterranean  passage, 
and  many  others  were  alluded  to.  It  was  evident 
that  the  Irish  peasantry  had  the  very  same  legends 
as  the  Scotch,  and  these  were  told  in  a  different, 
and  very  characteristic  way. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  Irishman  will  collect  and  publish  the 
Irish  popular  tales.  If  it  be  honestly  and  faithfully  done  it 
will  be  the  most  amusing  collection  of  all ;  but  if  any  one 
polishes  the  language  of  Irish  peasants,  he  win  most  certainly 
spoil  it. 

I  have  a  lot  of  notes  scattered  in  note  books  which  would  increase 
this  number  considerably.  And  I  have  heard  stories  told  in 
Devonshire,  near  London,  in  Cheshire,  in  Ireland,  in  Norway, 
Sweden  and  France.  But  nowhere  have  I  found  popular 
tales  so  well  preserved,  or  in  such  great  abundance,  as  in  the 
western  coasts  and  islands  of  Scotland.  I  have  a  great  many 
notes  of  stories  scattered  through  some  hundreds  of  letters, 
which  are  not  included  in  this  list. 

February  1862. — Other  Stories  have  been  received. 


43  6 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


GAELIC. 


No.  6TOKY.  KARRATOR. 

1 .  Sgeulachd  na  Daoil   .        .        .  John  Mackenzie,  fisherman 

2.  Bolgum  Mor 

3.  Procession  and  Death         .        .  Nurse  maid    . 

4.  Righ  Breaton  Ì  Bana<ja  J  John  Maclean 

5.  Leannan  Sith  f  '        *  \ 

6.  Proverbs,  metncal      ...  ? 

7.  Ditto.    135  in  number     .        .  Mrs.  Macdonald  and  Mrs. 

MacEchany 

8.  Mac  na  Baintraich    .        .        .  John  Campbell,   June  27, 

1859 

9.  Sgire  mo  Chealaig     .        .        .    ,,   (known  also  to  De-war) 

10.  Sgeulachd  choise  Leun 

11.  Fuathan 

12.  Fuathan 

13.  Ridire  Ghrianaig        .        .         .  Don.  Macniven,  lame  carter 

14.  Nighean  Righ  na  Frainge  .  Hugh  Macindeor    . 

15.  Na  tri  Comhairlean . 

16.  Mac  an  Tuathanach  Hach 

17.  The  Widow  

18.  MacCuan . 

19.  Sgriob  liath  an  Earraich    .         .       „     (known  to  Urquhart) 

20.  Fraoch Ann  Darroch,  June  30, 1859 

21.  Conal 

22.  Magach  Colgar  .        .        .  Alexander  Macneil 

23.  Conal  Gulban    .        .        .  „         (known  to  Dewar) 

24.  Bilidh Roderick  Macneil  . 

25.  Iosbadaidh 

26.  An  Nighean  briagh  leisg 

27.  Nighean  Righ  fo  thuinn     .        .  Roderick  MacLean 

28.  Alasdair  Mac  an  Impire 

29.  Gruan  an  Eoin's  an  Sporran  oir 

30.  Gille  Bhadsair  .        .        .        .    ,,  (known  to  MacPhie,  348, 

English) 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


437 


GAELIC. 


PLACE. 

Inverary 


Islay . 


COLLECTOR. 


REFERENCE. 


H.  Urquhart 


Miss  Ord  Campbell 
H.  MacLean 


Lochaweside   Rev.  D.  M'Lean 
Inverary    .      Mr.  Robertson    . 


Gifted  Servants 
Woman  in  the  hill 


Gearrloch  .      H.  Urquhart 


.  No.  I.,  Abstract 
.  No.  XLVin  . 


Islay  (Bow-    H.  MacLean 
more) 


\> 


■No.  XXX,  Note 
.  No.  LVIII     . 


Didactic  . 


No.  XLI.     . 

Sea  Monster  Fion,  etc. 


(Ballygrant) 
Barra 


Poetry 

No.  XXXV. 
No.  XXXVI. 
No.  LXXVI. 

Very  Highland . 


Popular  Novel . 
Like  three  Soldiers  (Grimm), 
and  Arabian  Nights ;  good. 

Widely  spread  .         • 


43« 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


No. 


STORY. 


NARRATOR. 


31 .  Iain  MacRigh  na  Frainge 

32.  An  da  chraobh  Ghaoil 

33.  An  Nighean  a  chreichdadh 

34.  An  leaneabh  eun  bhaisteadh 

35.  An  duine  bochd  Bearteach 

36.  Three  Widows*  Sons  . 

37.  Na  tri  Leintean  Cannach   . 

38.  Na  tri  Saighdeiran     . 

39.  Gruagach  Ban    . 

40.  An  da  Sgiobair 

41.  An  Gadaiche  Dubh    . 


Roderick  Macneil 
Roderick  MacLean  (tailor) 


(see  343,  English) 
Hector  Boyd,  fisherman 


»» 


Hector  Boyd,  fisherman 

„       (known  to  Dewar) 
Alex.  Macneil,  fisherman 
Alex.  Macneil,  fisherman 


42.  An  t'  iasgair 


43.  An  Gille  Glas 

44.  Mac  a  bhreabadair     .         . 

45.  Nighean  Dubh  Gheal  Dhearg    . 

46.  An  Siunnach      . 

47.  Smeuran  dubh 's  an  fhaoilteachd 

48.  Ossianic  Poem   .        .     •    . 

49.  Edinburgh  beggar 

50.  Robber 

51.  Provost  of  London 

52.  An  Ceabhearnach 

53.  Uisdean  Mor      . 

54.  Mac  ille  Mhore  na  emit 

55.  Donachadh  eillan  Iubh 

56.  Gille  dubh  loch  a  dring 

57.  Oran  don  Ghille  dhubh 

58.  Jacobite  Song    .        .         .         . 

59.  Riddles      .         .#       . 

60.  Historical  Traditions 

61.  The  Soldier        .         .         .         . 

62.  Historical;  pretty  good 

63.  Poor  Wit  about  a  Laird  of  Islay 

64.  Each  Uisge        . 

65.  Domhnul  Duileag  (a  fairy) 

66.  Stupid  boy  .        .         .         . 

67.  Gabhar  Maol-buidhe 

68.  Loircean  na  luaithe    . 

69.  Figheadair  Mor 

70.  Diarmaid  agus  Graidhne   . 

71.  A  lot  of  Riddles  .  '      . 

72.  A  Fingalian  Riddle    . 

73.  How  Cats  went  to  Spain    . 

74.  The  Black  Pipe 


John  Smith,  Polchar 
Patrick  Smith,  ditto 
Roderick  M'Kenzie,  sawyer 
John  MacDonald,  tinker 

•  •  •  •  • 

Charles  Macintyre 


(  TJiis  lot  got  from  vari-\ 
ou8  sources  by  different 
schoolmasters,  through 
Osgood  Hunbury  Mac- 
kenzie, but  the  collectors, 
after  a  time,strvck  work, 
one  saying  that  he  would 
write  no  more  lies  for  the 

KwhoU  estate. 


(Several  versions) 
Same  as  53,  11,  12 
John  Tinker  . 
Alexander  MacAllister 


(Known  to  H.  Urquhart) 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


439 


PLACE. 

Barra 

•  • 

Barra 

•  •                * 

South  Uist 

Gearrloch  . 
Inveraray  . 

Beubecula 

•  • 

Gearrloch  , 

•  • 

COLLECTOR. 

■              ••••< 

•  •                 •                • 

H.  MacLean 

•  •                •                • 

•  •                •                 • 

H.  Urquhart 

•  •                 •                • 

D.  Tome    . 
:      Thomas  CameroA       ' 

»                          •                                 •                                •                                • 

BEFEBEN 

.  Very  Highland 
.  Novel;  tragic 
.  Novel;  good 
,  Handless  Maiden 
Arabian  Nights 

,  Twelve  wild  ducks 
.  No.  X.,  Note 
.  No.  LI. 
,  Whittington 

Good.    Version  of 
.  No.  IV.,  Note 

Good . 
.  No.  IV.,  Note 

.  Version  of  No.  IV. 
.  No.  IL,  Note 
.  No.  XLVI.,  No 
.  WUd— good 
.  The  Heads  . 
.  Beggar  at  Bethnal 

No.  XVII.  6,  N 
.  No.  XXX.,  2d  i 
.  No.  VII.,  Abstr 

CE. 

• 
• 
• 
• 

• 

• 
• 

Conal 

• 
• 
• 

te 

* 

m 

Green 

ote 

rersioi 

act 

1 

Inverary 
Islay 

•                  • 

.             .               .               ? 
9 

.          .             .            ? 
.           .             .            ? 
? 
.           .             .            ? 
.           .             .            ? 
.          .             .            ? 

H.  Urquhart 
H.  MacLean 

.  No.  L. 

Good 

No.  X. 

No.  XXX. 
.  No.  XLVIIL 
.  No.  LIL    . 

No.  LX.    . 
.  No.  L. 

Tarbert 
London 
Beauly 

Whittington 

440 


LI8T  OF  STORIES. 


So.  8TOBT.  BARRATOR. 

75.  Os.*ianic  Part  of  Baa  Osgair 

76.  Murachel  agus  Merachel .        .  (Known  to  Dewar,  MacNair, 

Urquhart) 

77.  Proverbs . 

78.  The  Cat  and  Mouse         .        .  Hector  MacLean    . 

71).  An  Ceathearnach     .        .        .  James  Wilson,  blind  fiddler 

80.  Murachadh  Mac  Brian . 

81.  Gaisgeach  na  sgiath  deirge      ....         .        . 

82.  Nighean  Rigb  to  thuinne  .  John  MacKenzie     . 

83.  Nighean  gun  bhaisteadh  ....?.. 

84.  Fear  a  cnota  libesteach  Hath  Mrs.  MacTavish.     (H.  Ur- 

ghlas  quhart) 

85.  Domhnul-dona 

8C  Domhnul  nuch  robb  glic 

87.  Dan  an  deirg 

88.  The  Sheep's  tail       .        .        .  J.  F.  C,  H.  Urquhart,  J. 

MacNair,  etc. 

89.  The  Widow's  Son 

90.  Gille  Carrach  .        .        .        .  Stable-boy,  John  M'Gibbon 

91.  Do.  Mother's  blessing    .  .  MacCraw,  drover    . 

92.  MaeRigh  Lochlainn  .  .  A  Traveller :  Jnn,  Inveraray 

93.  No  name.     Cath  Nan  Eun  .  John  Dewar   . 

94.  An  Leodach     .        .         .  .A  Minister's  Wife  . 
9").  Each  Visge      .         .         .  . 

96.  Morachan  'us  Mionachan  .  A  Minister 

97.  Fear  a  bhratain  Uaine      .         .  John  Dewar,  labourer     . 
9<S.  Toad  Prince     ....  Mrs.  M'Tavish 

99.  A  chaora  bhiorach  ghlas  .  John  Dewar   . 

100.  lullar  og  Armailteach       .         .  ...  Jan.  7,  1860. 

101.  An  't  Uirsgeul  aig  na  Righre  .  ...  Aug.  1859. 

102.  A  Maighdean  Mhara 

103.  Colla  mo  Run  .        .         .  Song  heard  long  ago 

104.  The  Sailor's  Son       .        .        .  Patrick  Smith 

105.  The  Merchant 

106.  An  t'  Uirisgeul  Mor         .        .  Donald  MacPhie     . 

107.  Fiachaire  gobha       .         .         .  Malcolm  MacLean  . 

108.  Bearneraidh 

109.  Ribin  'us  Robain,  etc.      .        .  Donald  MacLean    . 

110.  Mac  an  Tuathanaich 

111.  Loch  Alsh  (Jan.  19,  1860)       .  Mary    Morrison     (pauper, 

bedridden) 

112.  Skve 

113.  Robber  Story 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


44I 


PLACE. 


Islay,      Port 


COLLECTOR. 


lay 


Islay 


emy88 


Islay 

•  • 

Inveraray 
Islay . 


Hector  MacLean 


H.  Urquhart 
H.  MacLean 
Mrs.  MacT— 


BEFERENCE. 


.  No.  VIII.,  Note 


.  No.  XLIX. 
.  No.  XVII. 
.  No.  XXXVIII. 
.  No.  LII.  . 
.  No.  LII.  . 
.  Translated  . 
.  Also  in  Irish 


.  Very  old.    Grimm 
.  No.  LX.    . 

Poetry 
.  No.  LVIL 

.  No.  II.,  Abstract 
.  No.  II.,  Abstract 
•  No.  II.,  Abstract 
.  No.  IL,  Note    . 
.  No.  II.,  Abstract 


„  etc.  etc.       J.  F.  C. 


Islay .        • 
Inveraray  . 
South  Uist 
Locbawe8Ìde 
Glendaruail 
Skye 


MacLean  . 
J.  r.  C  . 
J.  r .  C. 
J.  F.  C.  . 
J.  Dewar  . 
Miss  MacLeod 


Inverness  . 
Glendaruail 
Islay . 
Glendaruail 


Dewar 
Mrs.  MacT- 
J.  Dewar    . 


.  No.  VIIL,  Note 
•  Good  . 

.  No.  XXXIII.    . 
.  No.  XLIII.       . 
.  No.  LIL,  Note 
.  No.  IIL    . 


Islay 
South  Uist 


North  Uist 

•  •  • 

Edinburgh 
Benbecula 


tl  •    £  •    vy»         •  •  •  •  •  • 

J.  F.  C,  H.  MacLean  Novel 

Arabian  Nights  ? 

H.  MacLean       .        .  See  No.  I. 

Known  to  Urquhart 

See  Collier,  848     . 

No.  XXVIII.    . 

.  No.  XXXIX    . 
.  No.  XL.    . 


Mr.  MacLauchlan 


D.  Torrie 


44* 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


Na  8TOBT. 

114.  Na  Fiantaichean 


HABSATOR. 

.  Donald  MacLean    . 


115.  Mac  Na  Bain treach  (Bee)         .  Kenneth  MacKenzie,  Jan. 

20,  1860 

116.  Na  tri  Saighdearan 


117.  6geulachd  ma  thaolachd  Righ    Mrs.  MacTavish,  Jan.  19, 

1860 

1 18.  Mac  a  chiobair         .        .        .  Kenneth    Boyd,     Carnish, 

Lochmaddy 

119.  Cu  ban  an  't  Sleibhe        .        .  Marian  Gillies,  Port  an  long 

120.  Na  tri  Rathaidean  Mora  .        .  Margaret  MacKenzie 

121.  An  Cat  glas     .  .         .        .  B.  MacAekill  . 

122.  Mac  a  ghobha 

123.  Fio8  an  Anraidh 

124.  Morag    an    Righ   *s   Morag  a 

Bhanrighin 

125.  Bodach  na  craoibhe  Moire        .  Donald  MacLean     . 

126.  Clann  an  Righ  fo  Gheasaibh  ? 

127.  Maol  a  bhoibean 

128.  An  Greusaiche  's  a  ghille         .  Donald  MacLean    . 

129.  An  Gasgaich  Mor 

Numbers  L  II.  III.  IV.  V.  VI.  VII.  VIII.  IX.  X.  XII.  XIII. 

Manuscript  bound  together 


LIST  OP  STORIES. 


443 


PLACE. 

Edinburgh 

Ross  . 
Glasgow    . 

Islay . 

North  Uist 

North  Uist 
Bermeray  . 


COLLECTOR. 


REFERENCE. 


Rev.  Mr.  MacLauchlan  Returned  .... 

A  man  rouses  the  sleeping  Fian- 
taichean  with  a  whistle  which 
he  gets  from  the  oldest  of  nine 
old  men,  fathers  and  sons. 

H.  Urquhart       . 


No.  X.,  Note     . 

March  1861.  A  version  told  by 
a  tinker  in  London,  gold, 
silver,  copper,  castles.  Curi- 
ous adventures  under  ground, 

Compare  Leabhar  nan  cnoc 


Mrs.  MacT- 


H.  MacLean 


No.  II. 
No.  IV. 


•  • 


Edinburgh       Mr.  MacLauchlan 


Glendaruail     J.  Dewar    . 

Arrochar 

Edinburgh      Mr.  MacLauchlan 


Hacon    Grizzlebeard.      Short- 
shanks. 

.  Magic  cave,  swords,  etc. 
.  No.  IV.,  Abstract 

•  A  woman  who  has  no  fear 
.  No.  XLIII.       . 

See  Smeuran  dubh.     A  very 
good  version. 

.  Returned  .... 
A  mystical  old  man  found  in  a 

vast  tree — let  out  by  king's  son 

— adventures — horse,    boar, 

unicorn. 
.  Version    of    Cannach    shirts. 

Wild  ducks— good. 

.  No.  XVII. 

.  Returned  .... 
A    Munchausen     story — very 

good.  Servant  clever— they 
o  all  sorts  of  wonders — e.g. 
reap  a  field  by  throwing  a 
sickle  at  a  hare. 

•  Classical — good     . 


XIV.  XV.  XVI.   XVII.  XVIII.  XXI.   XXII.  XXXVIII. 
in  order  as  published. 


444 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


No. 


8TORY. 


HARRATOB. 


150.  Sgeul  Bhloineagain  bhig  .  JohnDewar's  Mother,  1810 

151.  Maic  a  Mhuillear  Lonanaich    .  John  Crawford,  fisherman 


152.  Nighean  an  Righ  *s  a  Chaill-      Donald  MacLean    . 
eachas  Dubh. 


153.  An  Righ  a  phos  Nighean  an 
Tuanaich. 


154.  An  da  Mharaanda    . 

155.  An  t  aireach    . 


156.  An  Eaglais  Uamhalt 


.  Johanna       MacCrimmon, 
Aug.  1859 


.  Margaret  MacKinnon 


157.  Brian  Briagach 

158.  Eoghan  agus  Alasdair 

159.  Tri  choin  nan  sreang  Uaine 

1G0.  Mac  a  Ruagaich 

1(51.  Maol  a  Chliobain 

162.  Sgeulachd  Eoghan  Iurach 

163.  Conall  Guilbeanach 


Donald    MacKillop,    Aug. 
1859 


.  J.  Dewar. 

.  Flora  Macintyre 

.  J.  Dewar 

.  John  MacNair,  May  1860 


164.  An  Righ  us  am  Muillear  .  Donald  MacLean 


1 65.  A  Fight  between  Brothers        .  A  Student 

1 66.  Ian  Dubh  Mor 

167.  An  Tuathanach  O'Draodh        .  Donald    MacKillop,    Aug. 

1859 

168.  Brathair  agus  Leannan 

169.  Cailleach  na  riobaig 


LIST  OP  STORIES. 


445 


PLACE. 


COLLECTOR. 


Arrochar    . 
Loch  Long 


J.  Dewar    . 


Edinburgh       Mr.  MacLauchlan 


Berneray   .      H.  MacLean 


Clachaig 


Islay 
Clachaig 


J.  Dewar    . 


H.  MacLean 
J.  Dewar    . 


Glasgow 
Berneray 


D.  Torrie   . 
H.  MacLean 


REFERENCE. 

Buttercup— good  .         . 

Dr.  MacLeod— Mrs.  MacTavish 
—Witch,  etc.,  to  be  referred 
to. 

Beturned  . 

Good.  A  king's  daughter 
amongst  black  carlins  (?) 
nuns.  Carried  off  by  a 
young  man,  like  Hacon 
Grizzlebeard. 

Beturned  . 

Very  good.  Like  Grimm's 
peasant's  daughter — I  have 
heard  it  myself  in  Barra. 

A  man  and  a  lion  in  a  desert 
island,  and  a  dead  man  who 
helps  them  out — strange. 

No.  XXX,  Note 
Ghosts  and  robbers — goat 

A  little  dog  which  gets  inside  a 
giant    and   a    king's    sister 
leagued  with  the  giant,  Dec 
1859. 

No.  XXXIX,  Abstract 


Edinburgh      Mr.  MacLauchlan  ' 


Compare  125,  and  valiant  Tailor, 
Grimm— (certainly  old). 

Introduction 
Pigs  and  dogs 

No.  XLV. 

No.  XVII.,  Note 

No.  XXXVII.,  Note 

No.  LXXVI.     . 
See  No.  23    . 

Beturned 

A  very   good  version  of  the 
"  Guid  Man  o'  Ballengeich,' 
Sir  W.  Scott's — also  king  and 
Miller. 

Popular  history     . 

ISo.  XXX. 


A  fanner  finds  a  bag  of  money — 
wife  sends  him  to  school — 
owners  come — says  he  found 
it  when  he  went  to  school — 
wife  says,  "  Now  you  see  my 
husband  is  a  fool." 

Robber  story 

Fairy  lady— common.  Lady  of 
Lake, 


446 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


No.  STORY. 

170.  Fuamhair  nan  coig  ceann 

171.  Ciotaidh  'as  Uilleam 

172.  An  Bobair  a  bha  Posadh 


HARBATOK. 

.  B.  Macaskil    . 

.  Christian  MacDonald 

.  Marian  Gillies,  Aug.  1859 


173.  An  t  Amadan  Mor 

174.  Biataiche  Na  boine 


Donald  MacKillop  . 
Christian  MacDonald 


175.  An  darna  Mac  aig  Righ  Eirinn  John  MacNair 

176.  Am  brathair  bochd,  etc.  .        .  Angus  Campbell     . 

# 

177.  Domhnul  Dona        .        .        .  Dewar    . 

178.  Witch  Story,  same  as  Black  Duncan  MacColl,  June  11, 

Dogs  1860 

179.  Do.    Galloway  Story,  Lady  of  Old  dog  gille,  Breadalbane 
Assynt 

180.  Cameron  Story 

181.  The  people  who  flew  with  the 

fairies 

182.  An  Gille  Carrach     .        .        .  John  MacNair  and  J.  Dewar 

183.  Domhnull  beag  Mac  Na  ban- 

trach 

184.  Callum  Garbh  M'Eothain         .... 

185.  Mogan  dearg  Mac  loch  air  .  James  Leitch,  shoemaker 


186.  Caol  Reidhinn 

187.  Fionn's  Sword 

188.  Dan  Fir  Tharlochain 

189.  Brathair  bochd 

190.  A  version — Wife  of  Laggan 

191.  Calum  grin,  etc. 

192.  Islay  Mermaid 

193.  Duan  Chollain     ^     . 

194.  Nighean  Iarla  Gliocas 


•  •  •  •  •  • 

•  •  •  •  •  • 

.  Mrs.  MacTavish     . 

.  R.  MacNeill,  labourer,  July 

.  Peter  Robertson,  June  12, 

1860 
.  Alexander  Fraser   . 

.  John  MacLean 
.  Hector  Urquhart    . 
.  Alexander  MacNeil,  fisher- 
man 


195.  Conal  Guilbairneach 

196.  Conall  Ghuilbinich 


.  John  MacGilvray,  labourer 
.  An  Uist  lad   . 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


447 


PLACE. 

Berneray  . 
North  Uist 


COLLECTOR. 

H.  MacLean 


Berneray   • 
North  Uist 


Clachaig    . 
Bosneath  . 


J.  Dewar    . 


REFERENCE. 

No.  rv 

Quoted  in  Introduction  . 

Diamonds  and  Toads 

Compares  Grimm  Robber, 
Bridegroom — Mr.  Greenwood 
—Widow  and  daughters — 
Bluebeard,  etc 

^Versions  of — 107,  Fiachaire 
Gobha— 30,  Gille  Bbadsair 
MacPhie,  one  of  Peter 
Buchan's — Mrs.  MacTavish 
—  Righ  Eillan  a  Mhach- 
baidh. 

No.  IV 

Compare  Straparola 

No.  XV 


Glenorchy       Peter  Robertson 


Good. — Better  than  published 
version.  # 

Mouse  and  Bee.    No.  X. 

Dasent's  goat  fiend.    No.  X.    . 


(Good)— Popular  history 


Clachaig    •     J.  Dewar 


.  No.  XVII. 


.  Mrs.  MacTavish — heard  at  Oban 
—Wind  and  meal 

.  Tradition  true 
Glendartiail       .....  Lady  in  golden  coracle  with 

silver  oars,  who  comes  from 
Lochia  nn. 

Islay.        •      Mr.  Carmichael  .  .  No.  LXVI. 

.No.  LXVIL      . 

Mrs.  MacTavish 

Barra         .     H.  MacLean       .  .  No.  XV.    .... 

Black  mount  ?  


Mauld 


London      .      J.  F.  C. 
Boss  .  H.  Urquhart 

KenTangval,  MacLean    . 
Barra 


Semi-Historical   Romance  — 
Rhymes  included. 


Colonsay 
Mauld 


Mr.  Fraser 


Connal  Guilbeanach 

No.  XX 

Shakespearean — Known  to  Mac- 
Phie. 

No.  LXXVL     . 

No.  LXXVI.     . 


44® 


LI8T  OF  STORIES. 


No.  STORY. 

197.  Tom  Thumb    . 


NARRATOR. 

.  Cathran  MacFarlan,  1809 


198.  Righ  nan  Ceisd 


.  Mary  MacCallum,  1812 . 


199.  Mac  an  Fhucadair   .         .        .  James  Leitch,  shoemaker 

200.  MorcharachdagusBeagcharachdMary  Macfarlane,  1812   . 

201.  Gilchrist,  Mac  Dougall  and  Frog  Hector  Mac  Lean    . 

202.  The  opening  of  a  story     .         .  A  small  boy  toldto  his  father 

203.  An  t'Urraisgeal  Mor         .         .  Donald  MacPhie,  1860   . 

204.  Nighean  Righ  Chaisteal  an  oir     MacNair . 


205.  Bull  Story 

206.  Donacha  na  Sgoil     . 

207.  Muillear  Gharlungainn     . 

208.  Shifty  lad 

209.  Nighean  Righ  an  Tullaich 

Ghuirm 


„     Heard  by  J.  F.  C. 
Roderick  MacNeill,  1860. 

Macnair. 


210.  Direach  Ghlinn  Eitidh     . 


Donald  MacPhie    . 


211.  Guaigean  làdhrach   . 

212.  Bàs  Chonlaoich 

213.  Conal 

214.  A  Bhruighin  Chaorain 


215.  Riddles    .        . 

216.  Gille  nancochail  craichion 

217.  Righ  nan  ceisd 

218.  Nighean  Iarla  Gliocas 

219.  Fionn's  Questions     . 

220.  Fraoqh     .... 


Macnair. 

An  old  man,  1860  . 
John  Macneil,  1860 
John  Macneil,  Nov.  1860 

?  1860 

Angus   Campbell,   quarry- 
man 
R.  MacNeill,  1860  . 
Alexander  MacNeill,  1860. 
Donald  MacPhie,  smith  . 
Mrs.  MacTavisb,  etc.,  etc. 


LIST  OP  STORIES. 


449 


PLACE. 


COLLECTOR. 


Glenfalloch     J.  Dewar    . 


Glendamail 
Arrochar  . 
Oban 
Oban 
South  Uist 

Clachaig    • 


J.  F.  C. 


H.  MacLean 
J.  Dewar  . 


REFERENCE. 

No.  LXLX. 

Tom  eaten  by  a  boll,  says 
rhyme— bull  killed  old  wife- 
fox— hounds— Tom  escapes. 

No.  XXIL 

See  collier's  son    . 


No.  vra. 

No.  XVII.  a,  275 


No.  I. 

This  is  evidently  a  very  old 
version,  bat  much  broken. 

No.  IV 

A  long  version,  with  many  vari- 
ations, traced  to  a  sailor. 
(Cupid  and  Psyche ;  the  lady 
being  the  mysterious  person. ) 

No.LXX.,       . 


Good  .... 

•  No.  XL 

Shifty  lad ;  Scottish  yeoman    . 

•  Popular  novel 

•  No.  XVIL 
Good— original 

•  No.  XLIV. 

A  combination.  Popular  his- 
tory of  a  Norse  battle ;  No. 
44,  VoL  II.;  end  of  Sea 
Maiden  belongs  to  44,  VoL  II. 
.  No.  XXXVIII. 
Curious  as  containing  a  monster. 
Same  as  in  Lane's  Arabian 
Nights. 

•  No.  LXXVI.     . 
Translated  March  1861;  Nursery, 

Ossianic. 

•  No.  LXXV.      . 

Prose  and  Poetry,  Ossianic 

•  No.  XXXV. 

Prose,  Ossianic     . 

•  No.  XXXVI.    . 

Fionn ,  etc. ,  go  to  Borne.    Prose, 
Ossianic. 

•  No.  L 

•  See  English  Index,  73 ;  Gaelic, 

223. 

.  No.  XXII. 

.  No.  XVIII.       . 

.  No.  LIX. 

.  Poetry,  Ossianic   . 


Minglay    . 
Clachaig    . 


Islay. 
Barra 


Benbecula 
Boseneath 

Barra 
Barra 
Breubhaig 


H.  MacLean 
J.  Dewar    . 


South  Uist      H.  MacLean 


Clachaig   •     Dewar 


Mr.  Carmichael 
H.  MacLean 


D.  Torrie    . 
J.  Dewar   . 

H.  MacLean 
Ditto     . 


VOL.  IV. 


2  G 


4$0  LIST  OF  8TORIE8. 

No.  STORY.  HABRATOB. 

221.  Fraoch     .        .        .        .        .  Ceite  Laomidh 

222.  Conn  Mac  an  deirg  .        .        .  Padruig  Buidhe 

223.  An  Cu  Glas     ....  Donnacha  Laoimidh 

224.  Gille  Nan  Spleadh  .        .        .  John  MacNeill 

225.  The  Fox  and  the  Cake     .        .   Hector  Boyd  . 

226.  The  Butter  Barrel 

227.  A  Bhràth         .        .        .        .   R.  MacNeill    . 

228.  An  Sitheachan  's  an  Taillear  .   A.  MacNeill,  Ken  tangval 

229.  An  toanach  mar  bhean  taighe  .  Allen  MacDonald    . 

230.  A  Gobhar  glas         .        .        .   Hector  Boyd  . 

231.  Fox  and  Cock 

232.  The  Hen 

233.  Cod  Cawdy      ....  Roderick  MacNeill . 

234.  Am  Faine  Oir  .        .        .        .   H.  Boyd 

235.  Manns Donald  MacPhie     . 

836.  Brian  Brigach  .        .        .   R.  MacNeill*   . 

237.  A  Mhuilearteach      .        .        .  Several  authorities;  see  poem 

238.  Laoidh  Dhiarmaid    .        .        .  Jannet  Carrie . 

239.  „  Alexander  MacDonald    . 

240.  „  See  vol.  iii.,  63 


241.  Fionn's  Questions    . 

242.  Poem  on  J.  F.  C.     . 

243.  Laoidh  Chaoilte    #   . 

244.  Laoidh  a  choin  duibh 

245.  Conn  Mac  an  Deirg 


.   Donald  MacPhie,  smith  . 
.   M.  MacLeod   . 
.   Jannet  Currie,StaoineBreac 
.   Allan  MacPhie 
.   Angus     MacDonald     and 
Alexander  MacDonald 

246.  Seathan  MacRigh  Beirbh         .   Angus  MacKinnon  (tailor) 

247.  Same  as  243  nearly  .        .  „  Dallabrog 

248.  Macabh  Mor  MacRigh  Sorcha     Patrick  Smith 

249.  Laoidh  Osgair         .        .        -   {SSS  SSSf*.        \ 

250.  Osgar  MacOisein     .        .        .   Allan  MacPhie 

251.  An  Fheanag  's  m  Madadh  Ruagh  John  Mac  Arthur,  shepherd 

252.  Am  Madadh  Ruagh,  agns  an  Cat        ..... 

253.  Am  Madadh  Ruagh 's  an  t  iasg    John  Mac  Arthur,  shepherd 

254.  An  fheanag  s  a  Ghorach.au 

255.  Sealgair  nam  meann        .        .   Marian  Gillies,  Port  an  long 


LIST  OV  8TOBIB8.  45 1 

PLACB.  COLLECTOR.  RBFEUHCR. 

Lioa  mora         Gimnichael  .  Poetry,  Oofaurle    . 

Jalay Foetij,  Ouluic    . 

Lioamore BnglUhTS,  Gaelic  310  ;Oanuiio. 

Ban*  H.  HacLsan  .  Munchausen  story-  -very  origi- 

nal—long. 

No.  LXVI. 

Ho.  LXV. 

Ho.  XXVIII.    . 

«■„,' No.xxvni.  .     .     . 

«»»  Uirt Noim  Tale.,  etc.;  oUwy 


>.LX1I. 

Ho.  LXm. 

No.  LXIV. 

Ho.  XVII. 

•  •_. No.  XLVDX     . 

Honth  Uirt No.  LXXXIV. 

I  him  hwd  this— J.   P.  C. 

Mngljy,  I860 NoTSXXIX.    .        .        . 

^"S*"^ T™i*odPo«ni         .        . 

Stony  Bridge No.  LXI. 

Vol.  III.,  M,  Pom! 

B«ngh  Bam No.  LXI. 

long  Hud No.  LXI, 

Translated,  Poem  S 

Bana No.  LX. 

Maidatono.      The  Bard   . 

8onth  Uirt      H.  HacLean  .  ujthiaL     '*.  Poem     .' 

B,n* 4  Poem     . 

Sooth  Uirt No.  LXXVn.  . 

Smith  Uirt       '.'.'.'.'.  g.  I^S     '. 

South  Uirt} N0.LXXXI.     .        . 

_      .   flood.    10.  Poem 

South  Uirt p™, 

Htt- No.  LXXH.      . 

FoiudCnw;  Fables  . 

• FOI  and  Cat—  Saoi 

Ialay.        .  Ditto    .        .        .  Fox,  and  Fiah,  and  Wolf 

No.  LXXI.        .  I 

Hoodie  and  young  otw{D— good 
North     Uirt, witcbrtorr 

use 


45* 


UST  0?  STORIES. 


No. 
256. 

257. 

258. 

259. 
260. 
261. 
262. 
263. 
264. 
265. 

266. 
267. 
268. 

269. 
270. 
271. 
272. 

273. 

274. 

275. 
276. 


HOST. 

Diuchd  Earraghaidheal    . 

Na  Ciad  Daoine  a  chaidh 

Ioirt 
Righ  Ceolan    . 


Padraig  beag  MacSaain 
Domhnull  nan  tri  laimh 
Iain  MacRuairidh    . 
Aonghas  Nan  Core  . 
Ailean  MacRuairidh 
Iarl  An  tram     . 
An  Claidheamh  Solute 


An  Criathar     . 

Na  uibhean 

Fio8  na  Mionaid  Fortanach 


HAXRATOB. 

.  From  Donald  MacDonald, 
Aird,  August  1859 
do  Donald  Mackillop,  1859  . 

.  From  Christian  MacDonald, 
1859 


Fairy  tale 

Do.       and  remarks 
Iain  Mac  ic  Sheumais 
Nighean  a  bhaigeir 

The  Lay  of  the  Great  Fool 

Fear  Taighe  's  a  ghleann 

Ursgeul  an  dubh  cheard 
Dagbadh  a  chinn 


Donald  MacPhie,  I860  . 
Donald  MacKillop,  1859 
Christian  MacDonald,  1859 

Donald  MacDonaldj  1859 
Ditto,  his  father,  Page  to 

Clanronald,  innkeeper 
Ann  MacLean 


Mary  Morrison 


Christian  MacDonald 

Aug.  1859 


»> 


Angus    MacDonald,    con- 
stable 
MacDonald,  tinker . 

Rob.  Stewart,  ditto 
John  Campbell 


277.  MacOighre  Righ  na  lor  Smail    Donald  MacPhie     . 

Ditto  Breubhaig 


278.  Na  Brataichean 

279.  Catli  Mhanuis 


280.  Coireal     . 

281.  Teannachd  Mor  na  Finne 

282.  Moladh  Ghuill 


>» 


ti 


>> 


283.  Airt  MacCumhaii    . 

284.  Am  Maighsteir  sa  Ghille 

285.  Mar  chuireadh  suas  an  Fhinn 

286.  IasgRigh 

287.  Bas  Gharaidh  . 


James  Leitch . 
Dewar's  father 
Angus  MacDonald 
Angus  MacKinnon 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


45  3 


PLACE. 

Benbecula 


COLLECTOR. 


REFERENCE. 

Popular  history 

Berneray Ditto,  St  Kilda  peopled 

North  Uist origin  of  the  MacLeods.  Ditto. 


Rasa. 


South  Uist Magic  mixed  with 

Berneray Like  a  Saga. 

North  Uist 


South  Uist 


Tobermory 

Benbecula .     Donald  Torrie 

North  Uist      H.  MacLean 

South  Uist 

Inverary    .      H.  Urquhart 


Strath     Gair-  . 

loch,    June 

1859. 
Barra,  1860    H.  MacLean 


Barra 


H.  MacLean 


Glendaruel 
Arrocher  . 
South  Uist 


J.  Dewar 

•  •  • 

H.  MacLean 


» 
»» 


Crying  people. 


Ditto 
O)itto 
Ditto 
Ditto 
Ditto 
Ditto 
Ditto 


.  Language;  Fairies 
Ditto 
.  Three    golden    hairs.      Norse 
Tales,  and  Grimm. 

.  Green  women  with  bone  beaks 

.  Woman  in  a  hill    . 

.    Popular  history     . 

.  Story  of  the  Beggar  of  Bethnal 
Green. 

.  11.  Poem     .... 

.  Man  goes  to  other  world.— 
Compare  Sean  Sgeulachd. 

.  Compare  118,  English 


Compare    Dean's    MS.       IS. 
Poem. 

Good.    14.  Poem 

Compare  Gillies — marked   11. 
15.  Poem. 

Ossian— marked  12.    16.  Poem 
Marked  15.    17.  Poem   . 

No.  LXXIX.    . 
Compare  page  31. — MacGregor 
MSS.— Marked  16.  .18.  Poem 


.  No.  LXXVIIT. 

.  No.  LXXXIIL 

.  No.  LXXXIIL 

• Version  of  the  death  of  Conan, 

etc. 


454 


LIST  OF  BTOBHa. 


No. 


STORY. 


288.  DnananDeirg 

289.  Laoidh  Fhraoich 


D.  Macintyre 

Catherine    MacQueen,    or 
MacDonaM 


D.  Macintyre 


Kate  MacLaomam,  aged  95 
Lachlan  Robertson*. 

Ditto  Kyfeakin 


L.  Robertson,  Lusaig 


290.  Dan  an  Deirg  . 

291.  Dan  na  H.  Ighean    . 

292.  Briathra  Fhinn  Ri  Oscar 

293.  Iain  Oig  . 
994.  A  Mystic  Dog 

295.  An  Intelligent  Dog  . 

296.  The  Woman  who  was  shod 

297.  Mac  an  Tuathanaioh 

298.  Nighean  Gobha  Rasaey 

299.  An  Seoladair  . 

300.  Mac  Mhic  Rhonnnil 

301.  „ 
oCfis.                     ,, 

303.  Daan  na  Ceardach  . 

304.  An  Badan 

305.  Feileagan  Buadha  nan  Spog    .... 

306.  Oscar  donn  Mac  Fhin  Mhic  R.  Robertson  . 

Oisean 

307.  Gobhar  Ghlas  ....  Several  boys    . 

308.  A  chaora  Bhiorach  Ghlas         .  Many  people  . 


.  Donald  MacPhie 


309.  A  Chromag 


.  Rory     Cameron,     Duncan 
MacDiarmaid 


310.  Caisteal  Meadhon  Chuain         .  Four  different  people,  boys, 

etc. 

311.  Cigean  Cnaigean  as  Boc  geal 

an  Renbain 


312.  The  Hogshead  of  Wine 

313.  Aiseag  na  h  Aimhne 


.  Four  different  people,  boys, 
etc. 


314.  The  Woman's  Son 

315.  A  lot  of  Riddles 

316.  Seann  Fhacaill 


317.  Am  FearMòr  agus  'm  Fear  beag  Donald  Fraser,  1817 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


4SS 


PLACE. 


COLLECTOR. 


Benbecula       D.  Tome   . 
North  Uist 


REFERENCE. 


.  19.  Poem 
.  20.  Poem 


Benbecula 


21.  Poem 

22.  Poem 

23.  Poem 


Skye 


.  No.  xxvin.  . 

.  New  to  me— novel 

.  Good— Woman  and  Water-hone 

.  Barra  Widow 

.  Glamour 

.     Ditto 

.  Enchantment 

.  No.  LXXXV. 

Poem  . 

South  Uist Straparola,   like  Shortshanks. 

Version  of  Battle  of  Birds. 


Barra 


H.  MacLean 


Skye. 


D.  K.  Torrie 
A.  Carmichael 


Curious — very  original — don't 

know  it  at  all. 
Fingalian  tale 

Best  version  of  the  Gray  Goat  . 

See  Urvashi ;  enchanted  Swans 
appear.  A  very  pretty  ver- 
sion of  the  Sharp  Gray  sheep. 

Story  like  the  Magic  Ass,  and 
the  Man  who  went  to  the 
north  wind— very  good. 

Mythical,  wild,  Highland 


Skye. 


Ditto 


Lochlong-eide  J.  Dewar 


Like  "We  »11  go  to  the  Wood,  says 
Richard  to  Robin."  A  child's 
story  about  baking  bread. 

An  arithmetical  puzzle  . 

An  arithmetical  puzzle  about 
crossing  a  river. 

A  genealogical  puzzle 
Usual  kind— old  saws 

Old  Saws.  These  are  specimens 
of  a  large  class  which  shew 
great  sagacity. 

The  Big  and  Little  Beggar- 
Tales  illustrative  of  popular 
sayings. 


+$6  U3T  OF  8TOB1E8. 

1 
No.  BTORT.  HAB1ULTOR. 

318.  Am  Fear  aig  an  robh  an  dioch 

bhean 

319.  AmFearbeag  agusabhean  Mor 

320.  Ridire  na'n  Spleadh 

321.  Ditto,  more  adventures 

322.  Riddles 

323.  Trod  n'am  Ban  Ma'n  Sgarbh   .  Eet  MacDonald,  travelling 

pack-wife 

324.  Creachadh  Nid  n'an  Sgarbh 

325.  Toinntein  an  diorrais       .        .  Mary  Bell,  travelling  pack- 

wife 

326.  Poem  by  Ysbol  Ni  VcKellan    .  Dean  MacGregor,  1529  . 

327.  The  king  of  Eirin's  son  and  the  R.  MacNeill     . 

king  of  Greece's  daughter 

328.  Grnagach  an  Eilean  Uaine       .  Donnal  MacCuidhean 


329.  Bas  Choirreil    . 

330.  Ditto. 

331.  Suire  Osein 

332.  Laoidh  Chleirich 

333.  Na  h-airm 

334.  A  Mhuirearteach 

335.  To  Sir  Neill  Campbell      . 

336.  Laoidh  Oscair 

337.  Laoidh  Choin  Duibh 

338.  Cuchullin  na  Charbad 

339.  Osein  don  Ghrein    . 

340.  Laoidh  an  Amadain  Mor 

341.  Bas  Dhiarmaid 

342.  Mar  Mharbh  Cathul  a  Mhac 

343.  A  song    . 

344.  Aireamh  fir  Dubhain 

345.  Na  Brataichean 

346.  Cath  Righ  Soracha  . 

347.  Cuchullin  na  Charbad     . 

348.  Same  as  344.    Version  . 


Coinneach  Carmichael 


Old  MSS.  copied 
Kenneth  Morrison 
Donald  Cameron 
K.  Morrison    . 

Hector  MacDonald 
K.  Morrison   . 


By  R.  MacDonald 
Hector  MacDonald 


Kenneth  Morrison 
Hector  MacDonald 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


4S7 


PLACE. 


COLLECTOR. 


REFERENCE. 


A  wife  outwits  her  husband. 
Carfew  (?) 

"A  little  man's  exploits,— 
boast,  shout,  and  whistle." 

"Another  turn  in  the  ox's 
horn." 

This  story,  which  is  common  in 
the  Highlands,  is  the  founda- 
tion of  Munchausen., 


"  Wives  scolding  about  a  skart " 


Mull 


Argyleshire     Mr.  MacLauchlan 
Minglay    .      H.  MacLean 


Skye .        .     A.  Carmichael    . 


Dunoon 

Skye. 


John  MacNair 
A.  Carmichael 


"  Let  'every  man  hold  his  own 
rope's-end." 

Curious.  Law  of  women  \  in- 
heriting land :  how  abolished : 
"  The  thing  that  took  the  in- 
heritance from  women." 

MSB.  Poetry 

The  narrator  has  never  worn 
shoes.  A  very  curious,  very 
Eastern  story,  traced  back 
forty-five  years. 

Story  about  the  Green  Isle  and 
the  Isle  of  Youth.  The 
Celtic  Paradise.    Good 

40.  Poetry. 

41.  Do. 

42.  Do. 
OssianandPadraig.  43.     Do. 

44.     Do. 
Poetry         .... 
MBS.  Poetry 
Poem  47.  Part  of  No.  9 
Poem  48.  Part  of  No.  26 
Poem  49.  MacCallum,  140,  Fin- 
gal,  etc. 
Poem  50.  MacCallum  178 
Poem  51.  Part  of  No.  6  . 
Poem  52.  Version  of  No.  4 
Poem  58.  Ossianic 
Poem  54  .         . 

Numerical  Fenian  puzzle,  Stew- 
art, 547. 

Poem  55.  Part  of  No.  85 
Poem  56.  Version  of  No.  81     . 
Poem  57.  Version  of  No.  49 


45« 


Lurr  or  8T0RM& 


Ha 

849.  Dnaran  agns  Qoll  .  .   Kenneth  Morrison 

860.  Mar  Mharbh  Cathnl  a  Mbae   . 

861.  Laoidh  Chatholaioh  Mao  Chu- 

chulain 
868.  Oaein  na  sheann  Aolf     .... 
868.  The  Black  Horse    .        .       .   B.  MaoHeffl 

864,  The  language  of  Birds    .        .   Janet  Carrie 


866.  Siarlas  Off  Mao  an  ridir»  aim-   Roderick  MacNefll 
bheartaich 


356.  An  Gobha 


Ditto 


357.  Maxims  . 

358.  Old  Seannaohaidh  . 


.  Hector  MacDonald 
Ditto 


LIST  OF  STORIES.  459 

PLACE.  COLLECTOR.  REFERENCE. 

.  Poem  58.  Ossianic  fragment    . 


Poem  59 

Poem  60.  ?  Part  of  No.  59 


* 


Poem  61.  Ossianic  fragment    . 

Minglay     .      Hector  MacLean         .  A  long  story,  part  of  the  ad- 
ventures of  King  under  waves. 

South  TJist        .....  A  long  andcurious  story,  unlike 

any  yet  got  Traced  back  to 
Clanranald's  bard  MacMhu- 
rich. 

Glenbarra Romance  with  measured  prose 

passages.  Rich  knight  adopts 
poor  nephew— aunt  tempts 
him  in  vain— proves  that  his 
sweetheart  is  Princess  of 
Wirinn.  King  of  France 
jealous — contrives  her  de- 
struction—murders cook  and 
Suts  him  in  her  room — she 
i  to  be  torn  by  horses  and 
burnt— hero  pretends  to  stay 
at  home — goes  disguised— 
rescues  her  in  three  fights— 
is  recognised  and  marries. 
Language  very  good,  measur- 
ed prose  ditto. 

Minglay     .  .         .         .A  widow's  son  learns  to  be  a 

smith— joins  a  tailor  and  a 
cobbler— goes  to  Glasgow  and 
London— they  enlist  and  de- 
sert— adventure  of  the  three 
conjurors — adventure  of  the 
six  black  princesses— smith 
wins  the  daughters  of  the 
kings  of  Greece  and  Egypt 
for  his  comrades,  and  the 
Princess  of  Spain  for  himself. 
Parts  of  this  resemble  a  bit 
of  the  history  of  Merlin- 
part  of  Sir  Tristrem— several 
of  the  Norse  tales,  and  Nos. 
4  and  10,  VoL  L  It  shews 
that  the  smith's  art  was 
honourable.  It  is  a  very 
good  story,  well  told,  and 
the  narrator  is  uneducated. 

Skye  .        .      A.  Carmichael    •         •  These  are  founded  upon  Ossianic 

poems  and  heroes. 

Skye.  Ditto  Men  who  knew  Ossianic  pieces. 

This  man,  aged  60  or  70, 
declares  that  he  has  heard 
his  father  repeat  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  published  Ossian 
as  read  to  him  by  Carmichael 
in  1862.    ' 


460  LIST  OF  STORIES. 

NO.  HOST.  NAJUULTOB. 

359.  A  Version  of  the  Address  to    H.  MacDonald 
the  Son 

860.  Saire  Oisein,  and  fragments 

861.  Diarmaid,  one  verse 

362.  Ossein  a  Caoidh  Oscair 

868.  Taibhs  Fhinn 

864.  Oisein  na  Aois 

865.  Bratach  Fhinn 

866.  DearsaGreine 

867.  Brataichean  na  Feinne 

868.  Garbad  Alaire  Cuchuillin 

869.  Laoidh  na  Nhighinn 

870.  Hid-alai 

871.  Trothal 

872.  Aireamh  fir  Dhubhain 

873.  Declaration  written  by  the  reciter  in  Gaelic,  and  signed  by 

him,  to  the  effect  that  people  do  not  believe  that  there 
were  snch  heroes  as  the  Feinne,  bat  that  people  who  could 
not  read  or  write  Gaelic  or  English  could  sneak  their  history 
from  Fionn  to  Gonnan.  He  declares  to  the  scribe  that  he 
learned  what  he  knows  from  his  father,  who  knew  a  great 
deal  more,  and  who  learned  it  from  his  father  when  he 
was  a  boy.  The  family  have  been  noted  for  repeating 
such  poetry  for  some  generations. 

374.  Version  of  Cuchullin's  Chariot    Kenneth  Morrison  . 

375.  Beannach  a  Bhaird  .         .  Catherine  Mathieson 


376.  An  t  oglach  o'  n  do  dh  fhalbh    Kenneth  Morrison 
a  bhean 


377.  A  lot  of  fragments 

378.  The  fairy  lullaby  of  MacLeod  .  H.  MacLeod  (bard) 

379.  Oran  an  Bidarie      .        .        .  Mairiread  Nic  Cuieim 

380.  Tigh  Didean  nan  Gorm  lann    .  Donnul  MacCuieim 

381.  Duan  Ghollain         .        .        .  Alexander  MacNeill 


LIST  OF  STORIES* 


461 


PLACE. 

Skye . 


COLLECTOR. 

A.  Carmichael    . 


REFERENCE. 

Poem  62 


Poem  63 
Poem  64 
Poem  65 

Fionn's  ghost.  Poem  66 
Poem  67 

Fionn's  banner.  Poem  68 
Poem  69 

Part  of  "  the  banners. "     Poem 

70. 
Version  of  Cuchullin  in  his  car. 

Poem  71. 
Maid  of  Craca  or  Fainesotisis. 
Poem  72. 

Poem  73 
Poem  74 
Poem  75 


Poem  76 

A  Christmas  poem  77.  "  Duan 
Cholainn ,  mentions  castles 
and  heroes,  including  Fionn. 

This  is  new  to  me ;  it  mentions 
Fionn  and  Grainne,  and  other 
Ossianic  heroes,  and  is  an 
Ossianic  ballad,  but  the  story 
I  do  not  know.    Poem  78. 

Some  are  versions  of  Ossianic 
ballads.    Poem  79. 


Barra 


H.  MacLeod 
A.  Carmichael 
Ditto 

U.  MacLean 


This  is  very  old.    Poem  80 

A  ballad.    Poem  81 

A  poem,  not  Ossianic,  given 

Sartly  in  the  Beauties  of 
aelic  poetry.  Poem  82. 
Composed  by  the  reciter's  great- 
grandfather  to  the  young 
Hugh  MacNeill  in  Barra, 
great-grandfather  of  Alex- 
ander MacRory  the  white, 
and  son  of  the  brother  of 
MacNeill  of  Barra.  These 
Christmas  poems  are  com- 
monly composed  still.  Poem 
83. 


46*  UBT  OF  8TORIK8. 

No.  flTOET.  XARKATOB. 

388.  The  hen's  healing   .  .  Various  people 

383.  RoUifl  chailleach  na  cuinneige 

384.  Treubhantais  a  hhramanaich  .  Hugh  MacLaochkm,  1818 


385.  Ditto 

386.  Ditto 

387.  Fear  na  firinn 

"  Take  heed  to  thy  sayings,  and 
choose  thy  speech ;  truth  is 
bitter  when  out  of  place" 

388.  Fear  a  bhaile  mhois  '■  na  tri 

Snirichean 


389.  An  tnathanach  ague  an  gobha 


February  17,  1862. — The  last  nine  stories  are  a  voluntary 
contribution  from  John  Dewar.  They  are  of  the  same  class  as 
the  ten  which  follow  No.  316,  and  they  resemble  xvii.  a  in  vol.  i.f 
xix.  and  xx.  in  vol.  ii.,  and  lxii.  to  lxvi.  vol.  iii.  These  are  the 
popular  equivalents  of  iEsop.  Many  of  the  old  saws  and  allusions, 
founded  on  them,  are  still  familiarly  understood  in  the  Highlands. 
11  Blackberries  in  February,"  or  "He  would  not  sell  his  hens  in 
a  rainy  day,"  require  no  explanation  in  the  Highlands.  "  Sour 
grapes,"  or  the  "  Monkey  and  the  Cats,"  or  "King  Log  and  King 
Stork,"  do  not  need  to  have  their  stories  told  in  England,  but 
they  would  convey  no  meaning  to  the  untaught  Highlander. 

J.  F.  CAMPBELL, 

Niddry  Lodge. 

Kensington, 
February  21, 1862. 


LIST  OF  STORIES. 


463 


PLACE. 


COLLECTOR. 


REFERENCE. 


Boseneath       John  Dewar  .  "  He  will  not  sell  his  hens  in  a 

rainy  day." 

"  The  cogieCarlin's  Rhapsody" 

(very  Eastern) 

Lochlong-side The  fool's  hardihood.    Same  in 

principle  as  part  of  story 
about  an  Ass  and  a  lion  in 
Straparola. 

The  fool's  haste     . 

•  A  fool's  strength  . 

Very  original,  sagacious,  humor- 
ous. 

•  A  very  sagacious  farmer's  story; 

the  principle  is  that "  preven- 
tion is  better  than  cure."  and 
that  slow  and  sure  win  the 
race.  A  grey  coated  suitor 
wins. 


"  like  the  needle  that  was  put 
on  the  coulter" — very  sagaci- 
ous. 


464  LIST  OF  STOBIXS. 

Fanr  Egos. 

Of  these  cnrionj  beans  I  have  now  ■  Urge  collection.  Seven 
different  kinds  are  thrown  np  on  the  Scotch  coasts,  of  which 
(bur  are  roughly  shewn  in  the  woodcut.  The  largest  and  com- 
morient sort  is  very  like  a  bean  which  grows  on  the  Andaman 
Inlands.  It  is  cunous  if  worthless  nnta  thrown  np  bj  the  sea  in 
Scotland  grow  near  India.  In  1825  these  nuts  were  mentioned 
in  letters  from  the  Irish  Highlands.  "The  Irish  then  laid  them 
under  their  pillows  to  keep  away  the  fairies,  and  it  was  supposed 
that  they  drifted  from  "South  America."  A  Highland  woman 
baa  twice  refused  to  part  with  a  graj  one,  which  she  "  had  from 
her  mother,"  and  which  is  "good  against  fire."  I  hare  seen 
one  which  was  left  to  a  girl  by  her  nurse,  and  had  been  silver 
mounted.  A  minister  told  me  that  they  were  blessed  by  the 
priests  and  worn  by  Reman  Catholics  otdf,  bnt  I  think  this  was 
a  mistake.  Protestants  keep  them,  I  know. — See  Introduction, 
vol.  L 

There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  stories  now  enrrcnt  in 
the  Highlands  are  nearly  exhausted  by  this  collection ;  whole 
districts  are  as  yet  untried,  and  whole  classes  of  storied,  such 
as  popular  history  and  robber  stories,  have  scarcely  been  touched; 
and  yet  new  stories  come  in  regularly.  MacLean,  Urquhart, 
Carmicbael,  Dewar,  and  others,  hare  many  more  written  down, 
but  not  copied  fairly  out.  791  is  the  number  now  reached,  and 
the  manuscripts  would  fill  a  wheelbarrow.  Three  more  volumes 
would  hardly  contain  the  collection ;  all  taken  down  from  the 
mouths  of  the  people  within  the  last  three  years ;  and  yet  it  is 
commonly  said  that  there  are  "no  current  popular  tradition*." 
One  half  of  ihe  world  seems  to  know  very  little  about  the  other; 
but  here  ends  (he  list  of  what  came  out  of 
Faikt  Eoob. 


TWT-W 


INDEX 


Adders,  ii.  369,  870. 

Advertisement  by  Dr.  John  Smith  to 

MS.  Gaelic  Poems,  ii  472,  473. 
Advocates'  Library,  Gaelic  MSS.  in, 

i  xx.,  bad  v.,  cxvL,  155 ;  ii  80, 166, 

187,  188, 193 ;  iii.  402 ;  iv.  41, 45,  92, 

102,  118,  120,  288. 
JEsop,  L  269 ;  iv.  463. 
Agricultural  implements,  L  xxvi. 
AUHriin,  story  of,  L  xlviiL,  154 ;  iL 

302. 
"  Albannaich,"  L  cxviiL;  iL  86. 
America,  discovery  of,  by  the  North- 
men, in  the  tenth  century,  iv.  344- 

346. 
Andersen,  Hans,  L  xlviii. ;  ii  129. 
Anonymous  collection  of  Gaelic  Poems 

(Glasgow),  iv.  115. 
Antiquarian  Museum,  Edinburgh,  iv. 

369. 
Antiquity,  asserted,  of  Ossian's  poems, 

iv.  10. 
Annbis,  the  dog-star,  i.  212. 
Aphophis,  the,  of  Egypt,  iL  371. 
Apollo  and  the  Pytho,  iL  371. 
Appin,  red  book  of,  iL  87-89. 
Apples,  magical,  their  important  part 

in  traditional  tales,  L  lxxxL-lxxxiv., 

xc,  192,  852;*  iv.  322. 
Apnleius,  his  Milesian  tales,  iv.  814, 

327  328. 
"Arabian  Nights,"   L  xix.,  xlviiL, 

lxxxiv.,  cxxxiiL,  101,  154;  ii.  302, 

367,  435;  UL  21,  410;  iv.  124,  296, 

299,  325. 
Arabic  popular  mythology,  its  bearing 

on  that  of  the  Celts,  iv.  325. 
Architectural  ornaments,  iv.  898. 
Argyll  family,  iii.  45,  82,  83 ;  iv.  64- 

67,  72-74. 
Argyll,  John,  Duke  of,  iv.  256 ;  song 

supposed  to  be  written  by,  379, 380. 

VOL.  IV.  2 


Argyllshire,  colonization  of,  by  Irish 

tribes,  iL  36 ;  fairy  stories  of,  69. 
Armagh,  the  Book  of,  iL  134. 
Arran,  iv.  75.  77. 

Arrows  of  fairies,  iL  71.    See  Bows. 
Art,  Celtic,  iv.  381-403. 
"Art."    in    Gaelic,    equivalent    to 

Arthur,  iv.  30. 
Arthur  and  his  knights,   L  xxxv., 

lxxiiL  ;   iL   435  ;  iiL  115,  152 ;  iv. 

262,  278,  283,  el  seq.,  321,  403. 
Aryan  family  of  languages,  iv.  305- 

307. 
Asia,  the  cradle  of  the  human  family, 

L  xvL 
Assynt  man,  mistakes  of  the,  iL  882- 

884. 
Astronomy,  connection  of,  with  an- 
cient  superstitions,    iv.  311,  312, 

815-320,  386.    See  Zodiac. 
Authorship  of  Ossian's  poems,  iv.  5, 

etseq. 
Avalon  (Avilion,  Avian),  the  Celtic 

paradise,  the  "  Green  Island,"  iv. 

265,  322,  344-346. 


Baal  (river  god),  iL  135 ;  iv.  824. 

Badenoch  fairy  stories,  iL  65-67. 

Bagpipes,  illustration  of  a  stone  satire 
on,  iv.  56 ;  see  also  878,  404. 

Baillie  Lunnain,  L  281-288. 

Ballads,  definition  of,  iv.  128;  dif- 
ferent classes  of,  124-128.  160-248; 
references  to  books  containing,  409- 
413. 

Ballymote,  Book  of,  iv.  51. 

Balsam,  vessel  of,  in  Gaelic  stories, 
L  218. 

Bannatyne  MS.,  iv.  24,  69. 

Bannockburn,  battle  of,  iv.  49. ' 

Baptism  of  a  child,  story  of,  iL  888. 


466 


INDEX. 


Barbour,  the  Scotch  poet,  iv.  49-51, 

204. 
Bards,  Highland,  examination  of  the 

language  of  their  poetry,  iv.  160-248. 
Baresarks,  iii.  221. 
Barra,  peasantry  in,  ii.  128. 
Barra,  The,  Widow's  Son,  ii.  110-121. 
Battle  of   the  Birds,   i.   25-37,  271; 

other  versions,  47-62  ;  tales  resem- 
bling this  in  other  languages,  62 ; 

iv.  277,  289. 
Bauchan  or  Bocan,  a  hobgoblin,  ii. 

89-93 
Baxter's  "Call,"  Gaelic  version  of, 

iv.  78. 
Bealtainn  (May-day),  superstitious  ob- 
servances connected  with,  iv.  402, 

403. 
Bearnairidh  (Harris),  fairy  story,  ii 

68. 
Beaton  family  in  Islay,  ii.  365 ;  iv.  51, 

«8. 
Beatson.  Rev.  Henry,  i.  cxxxiv. 
"  Beauties  of  Gaelic  Poetry,"  ii  381 ; 

iv.  35,  107. 
Belief  in  fairies,  widespread,  ii.  71. 

See  Fairies. 
Bellerophon   and   the   Chimsera,    ii 

871. 
Berwick,  the  Friars  of,  it  228. 
Betham,  Sir  William,  ii.  134. 
Bethune,  Malcolm,  ii.  368. 
Betrothal  ceremonials,  ii.  14. 
Bible,  a  protection  against  fairies,  ii. 

52  ;  first  Irish  version  of,  iv.  76. 
Birds,  i.  xciv.  ;  ii.  303,  360. 
Black-bird's  Bone,  story  of  the,  ii. 

107. 
Black-cocks,  ii.  3S1. 
Black-white  Red,  the  Daughter  of, 

i.  58. 
Blair,  Dr.  Hugh,  iv.  106,  107. 
Bluebeard,  ii.  275. 
Boar,  The,  of  Ben  Laighal,  iii.  81,  82. 

See  Lay  of  Diannaid. 
Boars,  magic,  iii.  89 ;  iv.  297 ;  see  i. 

xci. 
Boatmen,    the    Highlanders    as,    i. 

lxxxvii. 
Boats  of  skin.  ii.  303. 
Bocan  (a  sprite),  ii.  89, 101.  See  Super- 
natural beings. 
Boccaccio,  i.   130,  154 ;    ii   13 ;    iv. 

29S 
Bodath,  ii.  101. 
Bodleian  Library,  iv.  17. 
Boobries,gigantic  water-birds,  ixcvii ; 

iv.  338. 
Book  stories,  modern,  not  to  be  con- 


founded with  traditional  tales,  i 
xlix.,  1. 

Borrow's  Bible  in  Spain,  i  175. 

Bosses,  Celtic,  iv.  381. 

Boswell,  James,  biographer  of  John- 
son, iv.  369.    See  Johnson,  Samuei 

Bows  and  arrows,  iv.  168,  203,  372. 

Boyce,  Hector,  iv.  27. 

Boyd,  Hector,  iv.  178. 

Bragging  Brian,  ii  233. 

Breadalbane  family,  iv.  52. 

Breast  of  Light,  iii  202,  et  seq. 

Bretons,  the,  a  branch  of  the  Celtic 
clan,  i  cxi  ;  traditions  of,  iv.  270- 
277. 

Brian,  iv.  42. 

Bridge  of  hair,  i  262,  265. 

Bridles,  Highland,  i  62. 

British  Museum,  designs  in,  illustra- 
tive of  Celtic  dress,  etc,  iv.  871, 
et  seq. 

British  Traditions,  connection  of  Gae- 
lic popular  romances  with,  iv.  259- 
269.    See  Tales. 

Brittany,  sketch  from  a  sculptured 
stone  in,  illustrating  Celtic  art,  iv. 
382 ;  description  of,  395-398. 

Brollachan,  The,  ii  189,  190 ;  similar 
stories,  190-194 ;  see  also  i  liv. 

Bronze  vessels,  ornamented,  iv.  384, 
385,  391. 

Brooke,  Miss,  iii.  346 ;  iv.  45,  99,  126, 
220,  412  ;  her  Irish  collection  pub- 
lished, 101,  118,  272,282. 

Brown  Bear,  The,  of  the  Green  Glen, 
i  164-170. 

Brownies,  i.  xciii  ;  ii.  55. 

Browns,  notices  of  the  clan,  iii.  86, 
88. 

Bruce,  King  Robert,  iv.  49 ;  the  poem 
so  called,  204. 

Buchan,  Peter,  editor  of  Ancient 
Songs,  i  xlvi.,  192 ;  ii  275,  435  ; 
iv.  336. 

Bulls,  the  language  of,  iii  117. 

Bulls,  The,  iii.  118,  119. 

Burgh,  The,  ii.  37,  38. 

"  Burnt  Njal,"  iii  254  ;  iv.  179. 


Cacus,  i.  102. 

Cailliach  mhor  Chlibhrich,  ii  46. 

Cairns,  i.  xci. 

Californian  Indians,  i  cix. 

Calvin's  Catechism,  publication  of,  in 

Gaelic,  iv.  72. 
Campbell,  Sir  Colin,  of  Glenurchy, 

ancestor  of  the  Breadalbane  family, 


iv.  52. 


INDEX. 


467 


Campbell,  Rev.  Dr.,  of  Jamaica,  L 

xxxviL 
Campbell,  Sir  Duncan,  iv.  70. 
Campbell,  John,  L  xxxiii. 
Campbell,  John,  of  Kilberry,  iL  89. 
Campbells,  the  clan,  iii.  82, 83;  genea- 
logical incidents  connected  with, 

84-88. 107 ;  iv.  48,  52,  256-258.    See 

Argyll  family. 
Camps  in  Lapland,  i.  ciL-cvL 
Cardigan  Bay,  iv.  299. 
Carlyle,  Rev.  Dr.,  iv.  108. 
Cannichael,  Mr.  Alex.,  i.  cxxxiv. ;  iii. 

107 ;  iv.  129 ;  letter  from,  iv.  229-247. 
Carnac,  sketch  of  "  standing  stones" 

at,  iv.  899. 
Carewell,  Bishop,  iv.  18,  69.  225. 
Cat,  The,  and  the  Mouse,  iL  889,  890. 
Cats  and  .witches,  L  xcv.,  200;  iL  97. 
Caves,  sea-coast,  i.  155, 156. 
Caxton,  William,  iv.  59. 
Ceabharnach,  History  of  the,  L  308- 

314. 
Celt  and  Saxon,  relations  of,  i.  xxxix. 
Celtic  clan,  the,  L  ex.  cxL  ;  language 

of,  ex. ;  brief  outline  of  their  history, 

cxL-cxv. 
Celtic  dress.    See  Dress. 
Celtic  nations,  Eastern  origin  of,  i. 

lxiv.,  212 ;  who  are  Celts  now?  ex. 

See  iv.  300-328. 
Chambers,  William  and  Robert,  iii. 

19,  101 ;  iv.  287. 
Champion,  The  Slim,  Swarthy,  L  289- 

300,  lvii. ;  other  versions,  308-314, 

319.    See  also  iv.  165, 190. 
Characteristics  of  Scotch  Highlanders, 

Lxxxh.,249;iL  215. 
Charlemagne,  romances  treating  of, 

iv.  267,  268. 
Charms,  iL  53,  370 ;  iv.  342. 
Charters,  ancient  Gaelic,  iv.  41,  51. 
Chase,  boars  in  the,  L  xcL 
Chatterton,  iv.  23,  270. 
Chest,  The,  iL  1-8 ;  similar  stories  told 

by  Boccaccio  and  Shakspeare,  13, 

14. 
Chevy  Chase,  iv.  123. 
Children,  cure  for  their  ailments,  L 

200. 
Children's  Tales,  i.  xliiL  ;  iL  382 ;  nur- 
sery rhymes,  iii.  19. 
China,  story-tellers  in,  L  xviL  ;  trans- 
lations of  Chinese  tales,  xliiL 
Chivalric  tales,  Welsh,  iv.  270-299. 
Christmas  customs,  iii.  19. 
Cider  Cellars,  L  xxviiL 
Cimbri  (Cymri,  Kimri),  the,  L  cxiL, 

cxiiL 


Cinderella,  i.  226 ;  ii.  292. 
Ciofach,  son  of  the  stranger,  ill  41. 
Circle  of  light,  iv.  320. 
Circular  dancing,  origin  of,  iv.  315. 
Clanranald's  bard,  iv.  78,  205. 
Clanrannald,  red  book  of,  iL  106. 
Clark,  Mr.  John,  his  translations  of 

Gaelic  poems,  iv.  99. 
Clonfert,  Bishop  of  (Dr.  Young),  iv. 

15-17. 
Cock,  the,  an  emblem  of  JSsculapius, 

L  200  ;  a  golden,  48  ;  fables  of,  268, 

271 ;  iii.  93. 
Cceur  de  Lion,  romance  of,  iv.  268. 
Coffin,  stone,  design  from  a,  iiL  123. 
Cole,  King,  iv.  27. 
Collector,  narrative  of  a,  L  IviiL-lx. 
Coluinn  the  bocan,  iL  89 ;  air  of  his 

Lament,  91. 
Colville,  his  Whigg*s  Supplication,  iv. 

74-76. 
Combs,  golden  and  silver,  their  place 

in  traditional  tales,  i.  lxxviL-lxxxL, 

53,  61, 69,  260 ;  iv.  321 ;  as  a  symbol 

on  sculptured  stones,  iiL  340. 
Commercial  principles  illustrated,  ii. 

129. 
Comparative  Mythology,  L  191. 
"Comparisons,    The    Forest  of,"  i. 
':  xliiL 

Conal  Crovi,  L  125-135  ;  ii.  194. 
Conall  era  Bhuidhe,  L  103-115. 
Conall,  iL  137-155 ;  notices  of  other 

versions,  166,  167 ;  iv.  276. 
Connal,  The  Tale  of,  i.  143-148 ;  other 

versions,  152,  153 ;  similar  stories, 

153   154. 
ConaU  Giilban,  iii.  188-279 ;  remarks 

on  the  different  versions,  and  their 

various  reciters,  185-188 ;  notes  on 

its  phraseology,  279-281.    See  also  i. 

lvL,  lvii. ;  iiL  396 ;  iv.  52,  276. 
Conan,  iL  186 ;  iv.  29. 
Correspondence,  ancient,  of  the  Argyle 

family,  iv.  72-74. 
Costume,  Highland.    See  Dress. 
Cowal,  iv.  75. 
Craignish  MS.,  iv.  256. 
Crawford,  Mr.  John,  L  156  ;  iv.  391. 
Crosses,  ornamented,  iv.  384. 
Crovan,  a  king,  L  155. 
Crows   i   276 
Cuchuilin,  L*  156;  iL  187 ;  iiL  181,  et 

passim. 
Cumhal,  the  father  of  Fionn,  iv.  27,  et 

seq.    See  Fionn. 
Cupid  and  Psyche,  iv.  300,  303. 
Cups,  in  mythology,  iv.  351. 
Currie,  Neil,  iv.  203. 


468 


INDEX. 


Customs,  once  identical,  in  Western 
Isles  and  in  Ireland,  iL  475. 

Catting  off  one  side  of  hair  and  beard, 
punishment  of,  iL  474. 

Cymbeline,  the,  of  Shakspeare,  iL  IS. 

Dan  an  Dearg  (Song  of  the  Red),  music 

of,  iii.  51. 
Danan,  the  people  of,  iL  80. 
Dance  of  Death,  the,  iv.  58. 
Dancing  in  circles,  practice  of,  iv.  815. 
Danish  Tales,  i.  xlviiL 
Darthula,  story  of,  iv.  45, 46, 118, 279. 
Dasent,  G.  w.,  translator  of  Norse 

Tales,  i.  xlv.,  61,  101,  852;  iL  257, 

260,  292.    See  Norse  Tales. 
Daughter,  The,  of  the  Skies,  L  202-207. 
Daughter,  The,  of  King  Underway es, 

iiL  408-420. 
D'Aulnoy,  Countess,  L  xlviiL  ;  iit  406. 
Debtors,  mode  of  torturing,  iL  14, 15. 
De  Oalles,  Perceval,  iv.  291. 
Decameron,  the,  of  Boccaccio,  L  180, 

154 ;  ii.  IS. 
Deed  of  fosterage,  Gaelic,  iv.  74, 
Deer,  iL  46,  109. 
Deer-stalking,  i.  lxxxviiL  ;  deer-herds 

in  Lapland,  ciiL-cvL 
Demons,  iL  101. 
Design,  Celtic  style  of,  iii.  123,  287, 

398.    See  Illustrations. 
De  Troyes,  Chrestien,  iv.  261,  275. 
Devonshire  piskies,  ii.  71. 
Dewar,  John,  i.  xxv.,  cxxxiv. ;  iv.  129, 

296  ;  letter  from,  iv.  215. 
Diana  and  the  Sacred  Hind,  ii.  435. 
Diarmaid,  i.  xxxiv.,  xL,  lxxi.  ;  ii.  186 ; 

the  poem  so  called,  iL  473 ;  iii.  44 ; 

iv.  134-136. 
Diarmaid  and  Grainne,  the  hero  and 

heroine    of    many   Gaelic   myths, 

stories,  poems,  etc.,  iii.  36-90;  iv. 

32,  262 ;  extensive  ramifications  of 

the  tale  of  Diarmaid,  iii.  89. 
Diarmaid  and  the  boar,  iii.  36. 
Diarmaid,  The  Lay  of.     See  Lay. 
Divona  (river-god),  ii.  134. 
Dogs,  in  traditional  tales,  i.  lxxxix.- 

xci.,  200,  211;  in  Lapland  camps, 

civ.-cvii. 
Donald,  King,  iv.  37. 
Donkeys,  L  191,  229. 
Douglas,  Gavin,  Bishop  of  Dunkeld, 

a  Scottish  poet,  iv.  59. 
Dreams,  i.  cxix.,  cxx. 
Dress,  Celtic,  iv.  365 ;  evidence  of  its 
,   antiquity,  368,  et  seq.,  879;  plaids 

and  kilts,  376-381 ;  cuts  illustrative 

of,  373,  377,  37a  (See  note  1,  p.  479. 


Dress  of  thongs,  L  21. 

Drift-wood,  analogy  between,  and  po- 
pular tales,  L  xviLodx.,  IzL,  bdL 

Druidical  temples  of  Scotland,  iv.  401. 

Druids,  L  lix.,  xciiL,  212 ;  iL  352, 860, 
870;  iiL  28,  191;  iv.  294-296,  885, 
886. 

Drammond's  Ancient  Irish.  Minstrel- 
sy iv.  17 

Dublin  Gaelic  Society,  iv.  99, 100.  Sm 
Os8ianic  Society  of  Dublin. 

Duin,  the  (Campbells),  iL  86. 

Dunbar,  William,  the  Scottish  poet, 
iv.  62,  54-58. 

Dunstaimage  MS.,  iv.  71. 

Dupplin,  illustration  from  a  sculp- 
tured cross  at,  iv.  25. 

Dyes  for  tartan,  iv.  366-368.        „ 


Each  uisge,  L  lrrxvi. ;  iL  194. 

Eagles,  L  249.  277. 

Easaid  Ruadh,  the  young  king  of,  L 

1-11 ;  other  versions,  18-24 ;  other 

tales  which  resemble  this,  22. 
Eastern  origin  of  Gaelic  popular  tales, 

L  briv.,  IxvL,  cziiL ;  iv.  305-307, 

827. 
Eastern  worship  of  wells,  iL  185. 
Earse  and  Irish,  iv.  17,  20,  61. 
"  Edda,"  the,  iL  292, 370, 434 ;  iv.  338. 
Eels,  ii.  370. 
Eggs  of  snakes,  ii.  369. 
Egyptian  deities,  i.  23 ;  iv.  323-325. 
Eirinn,  i.  xlii.,  box. ;  iL  80. 
Elibank,  Lord,  iv.  108. 
Elks,  ii.  107-109 ;  iv.  168,  169. 
Ellis,  Mr.  George,  his  "  Early  English 

Metrical  Romances,"  iv.  259. 
Elves,  ii.  55. 

Encyclopaedia,  Gallovidian,  ii.  369. 
English  opinions,  current,  on  Osaian's 

Poems,  iv.  8. 
Europe,  its  western  coast  the  chief 

receptacle   of  old  traditions,  and 

why,  L  xvL,  xvii. 
Eye,  an,  in  the  back  of  the  head,  iL 

291. 


Fables,  L  267-280 ;  iii.  90-101. 
Fàchan,  a,  cut  illustrative  of,  iv.  826. 
Fainesoluis,  poem  of,  referred  to,  iiL 

899. 
Fair  Chief,  tale  of  the,  iL  410-425 ;  iiL 

893. 
Fairhair,  Harold,  iv.  40. 
Fairies,  "Ferish,"  L  liii.,  lxxvL,  ciL- 

cix.,  cxvL  ;  dwellings  of,  cl,  ciL, 


INDEX. 


469 


cviL,  cix. ;  ii  51,  69 ;  stories  of,  ii. 

66-72, 99 ;  iv.  813,  338-344. 
Fairs  in  the  Highlands,  iv.  332,  333. 
Fair,  the  son  of  Coval,  ancestor  of  the 

Feene,  iii  61. 
Fairy  Tales,  i  c 
Falcons,  ii  349. 
Farne8e  Globe,  i  212. 
Faroe  Islands,  national  dance  in,  iv. 

315,  816. 
Farquharson,  Mr.,  his  collection  of 

Gaelic  songs,  iv.  78,  80,  81, 101. 
Fates,  the,  ii  435. 
Fearachur  Leigh,  ii  861-366. 
Fenian  heroes,  iv.  26-37. 
Fenian  traditional  poems,  the  language 

of,  iv.  160-248.    See  Bards. 
Fergus  the  First,  iv.  172. 
Fergns8on,  Dr.  Adam,  iv.  106, 107. 
Fiend,  the,  of  popular  tales,  i  lxxvii 
Fingai,  Fionn,  or  Finnn,  king  of  the 

Finn  or  Fein,  i  xiii,  xv.,!xi,  lxxvi. ; 

ii  73,  168,  186,  360;  family  tree, 

iii  60,  61 ;  sword  of,  107,  345,  368 ; 

date  of,  334 ;  iv.  10,  26,  et  seq.  ;  the 

Fionn  of  tradition,  and  of  the  Gaelic 

Ossian,  contrasted,  iv.  160-162. 
"  Fingai,"  quarto  edition  of,  published 

by  MacPherson,  iv.  83;  Wodrow's 

edition,  88-92 ;  remarks  on  the  lan- 
guage of,  144-146. 
Fin  MacCoul,  i  xi,  liii,  xcix.,  62,  et 

passim.    See  Campbells. 
Finn  (Fine,  Fein),  the,  who  they  were, 

i  xiii,  xv. ;  ii  73-77 ;  old  history  of, 

i  xxxii  ;  Seannachas  of,  xxxii,  xl. ; 

ii  79,  434 ;  stories  of  the,  iii  107- 

111 ;  armour  of,  368. 
Fionn's  Questions,  iii  36-39. 
Fire,  superstitions   connected  with, 

iv.  314,  315, 387, 401-403. 
Fish,  iii  41,  335;  Lapp  method  of 

roasting,  336 ;  myth  about,  336. 
Fitches,  ii  276. 
Fsssil  bones,  ii  107. 
Foulis,  Sir  James,  of  Colin  ton,  iv.  118. 
Fountains,  woreldp  of,  by  the  Celts, 

ii  134. 
Foxes,  in  mythical  tales,  i  xcv.,  267- 

275 ;  fables  of,  ii  267-272 ;  iii  91-93, 

100, 121. 
Fragments,  poetical,  i  xxxiii 
••  Fragments  of  Ancient  Poetry,"  pub- 
lished by  MacPherson,  iv.  82, 106, 

146-151. 
Fraoch,  translation  of,  iv.  78,  79. 
Fraser,  Mr.  Alexander,  of  Mauld,  i 

xxv.,  cxxxiv. ;  iii  186, 190,  200 ;  iv. 

129. 


Frogs,  i  275 ;  ii  184. 

Fuathan,  ii.  99-101, 191.  See  Superna- 
tural beings. 

Funeral  customs  in  the  Highlands, 
i  235. 

Future  state,  Celtic  notions  about, 
iv.  322. 


Gabhra,  Battle  of,  poem  on,  iv.  18, 
268. 

Gaelic  literature,  i  xxvii,  xxviii ;  iv. 
360,  415,  et  seq. 

Gaelic  MS.,  ancient,  recently  disco- 
vered in  England,  iv.  41 ;  an  Argyle- 
shire  MS.,  77 ;  MSS.  in  Advocates' 
Library,  i  xx.,  lxxiv.,  cxvi,  155 ;  ii 
80,  166,  187,  188,  193;  iii  402;  ir. 
41,  45,  92,  102,  118,  120,  288. 

Gaelic  of  Ossian  (1807),  examination 
of.  See  Ossian,  Ossianic  contro- 
versy. 

Gaelic  popular  romances,  relation  of, 
to  ancient  British  traditions,  iv. 
259-269. 

Gaelic  population  abroad,  i  lxv.,  lxvi 

Gaelic  Society  of  Dublin.  See  Ossianic 
Society. 

Gaelic  tongue,  its  characteristics,  i 
CXXX.-CXXXÌÌ  ;  dialects  of  the,  ex. ; 
the  spoken  Gaelic  of  these  Tales, 
cxx.-cxxiii ;  changes  in,  iv.  133; 
the  Gaelic  of  the  bards,  160-248 ;  its 
relation  to  Sanscrit  and  the  classical 
languages,  346-350,  355 ;  to  English, 
352-354 ;  modern  European  tongues, 
854-357 ;  and  old  Saxon,  356 ;  facts 
evincing  its  importance,  358-364. 

Gallic,  Mr.  Andrew,  his  remarks  on 
MacPherson's  authorities,  iv.  104, 
105. 

Gallie,  Mrs.,  iv.  105, 117. 

Games,  ancient,  i  22 ;  iii  19,  266 ;  iv. 
315-318.    See  Shinny. 

Gauls,  a  branch  of  the  Celtic  clan,  i 
cxi-cxiii  ;  manners  and  customs 
of,  cxiv.,  cxv. ;  their  regard  for  pigs 
as  sacred,  xcii 

Gavr  Innis,  iv.  882, 395.   See  Brittany. 

Geese,  sacredness  of,  in  many  nations, 
i  200,  201. 

Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  iv.  29,  266. 

German  broadsides  and  ballads,  illus- 
trative of  the  ancient  Celtic  dress, 
iv.  371-374. 

German  Tales.    See  Grimm. 

Giants,  in  popular  mythology,  i 
xcviii-c.,  cxvi,  53, 61, 155, 249, 264; 
ii  97, 107. 


470 


INDEX. 


Gilchrist's  "  Scottish  Ballads,"  ii  22a 

Ofllie  Carrach,  ii.  264. 

Gillies,  John,  his  collection  of  Gaelic 

poetry,  iii.  107,  118,  145,  295,  846, 

386,  888 ;  iv.  100,  118-120,  180,  131, 

«50,  272,  411,  412. 
Gipsies,  i.  175 ;  Hi.  387. 
Giraldus  Cambrensia,  iv.  323. 
Girl,  The,  and  the  Dead  Man,  i  213- 

215. 
Glaive,  L  lxxiii,  lxxvii,  3.   See  Sword 

of  light 
Glashan,  the,  i  lxxvii 
Glengarry,  elegy  on,  iv.  85. 
Glen  Odhar,  the  herds  of,  i.  cviL 
Goats,  i  263 ;  ii.  97 ;  iii  353. 
Golden  Goose,  i.  249. 
Goll,  The  Praise  of,  iii  293 ;  account 

of  various  versions,  295. 
Gomerini,  the,  i  cxii 
Goose,  The,  and  the  Fox,  L  267. 
Gordon,  Sir  Robert,  iL  865. 
Gorm,  John,  iv.  119. 
Gow  (Goll)  Macmorn,  iv.  50,  264. 
Graham,  General  Sir  Thomas,  i.  xxxvii 
Graham  of  Balgowan.   See  Lynedoch, 

Lord. 
Grainne,  daughter  of  King  Carmag, 

iii  39-90. 
"  Gram,"  a  tale,  i  lxxiii 
Grant,  Mrs.,  of  Laggan,  iv.  99,  100, 

102. 
Grant,  Peter,  of  Strathspey,  iv.  226. 
Graves  and  gravestones,  L  129;  iii. 

349. 
Gray's  poems,  iv.  7,  122. 
Greece,  ii.  186;  dances  in,  iv.  315. 
Green  Island  (America?),  the  Celtic 

paradise,  iii.  263.     See  Avalon. 
Greenock,  iii.  19. 
"Green  Sleeves,"- i.  192. 
Grey  Lad,  The,  i.  100. 
Grian,  the  sun,  iii.  19,  23. 
Grianaig,  the  Rider  of,  iii.  1-18;  ex- 
planatory notes,   19-23  ;    reference 

to,  iv.  276. 
Grimm,  Brothers,  i.  xlvii.,  Ixvii.,  62, 

101,  199,  249,  277;  ii.   19,  129,  133, 

194,  215,  228,  261,  275,  292,  359,  381  ; 

iii.  40,  90,  99,  422;  iv.  7,  274,  285, 

289,  303. 
Grosart,  Alex.  B.,  i.  xlvi. 
Grouse,  i.  276,  277. 

Growth  and  development  of  mytho- 
logical tales,  iv.  300,  313. 
Gruagach,  the,  i.  lxxvii.,  xciii.,  23; 

ii.  101,  186.    See  Conall  Gulban. 
Gruagach,  The  Fair,  ii.  410-425. 
Guaigean  Ladhrach  s'  Loirean  Spa- 


gach.  iii  180-183 ;  remarks  on 
another  version,  184,  185  ;  iv.  48. 

Guest,  Lady  Charlotte,  iv.  274. 

Guilbeinach  (Gulbairneach).  See  Co* 
nail  Gulban. 

Gunnhillda,  story  of,  iv.  29,  30. 

Guns,  i  lxxv. ;  ii  6L 

Guttenburg,  iv.  52. 


Hair,  dressing  of,  i  61 ;  sketch  from 

nature,  representing,  iv.  283. 
Hallowe'en,  superstitious  observances 

connected  with,  in  Scotland,   iv. 

401. 
Harper,  design  of  a,  from  a  stone  at 

Monifleth,  iii  122. 
Harry,  Blind,  the  Minstrel,  iv.  52. 
Hay,  Sir  Gilbert,  iv.  70. 
Head-dresses,  iii  21. 
Healing  wells,  ii  134.    See  Wells. 
Hebrides,  possession  of,  contended 

for  by  the  Northmen,  iv.  47;  an- 
cient chapels  in  the,  163. 
Helmets,  sculptured,  on   Hebridian 

tombstones,  iv.  47. 
Hen,  a  silver,  i  48. 
Hen,  The,  fable  of,  iii  94. 
Hercules  and  his  exploits,  i  lxxiL, 

61,  102  ;  ii  871 ;  iv.  289. 
Herodotus,  i  lxxiii,  cxii,  352;  ii 

264. 
Heroes,    mythical,    of  Gaelic   tales, 

i.  cxv.  ;  of  Ossian,  who  and  what 

were  they  ?  iv.  25-37. 
Highland  'dress,    iv.    865-381.       See 

Dress. 
Highland     peasantry,     tale-reciting 

among,  i  xii.-xv. 
Highland  Society  of  London,  i  xxxv. ; 

ii.  106;  report  on  Ossian's  Poems, 

i.  xxxvii.  ;  iii.  54  ;  iv.  7. 
Highlanders,  a  branch  of  the  Celtic 

clan,  i.  cxi.  ;  spirit  of  nationality, 

cxxvii.-cxxx. ;  iv.  361-364,  381. 
Hill,  Mr.,  publishes  ancient  Gaelic 

poetry  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine^ 

iv.  99,  411. 
Hills,  the  scenes  of  fairy  operations, 

ii.  51,  52. 
Hindoo  bronzes,  iv.  384. 
Holland,  Sir  Richard,  a  Scottish  poet, 

iv.  53. 
Holy  wells,  ii.  134.    See  Wells. 
Home,  John,  author  of  "Douglas,*'  rv. 

107,  10S-113. 
Honeysuckle,  superstitions  connected 

with,  iv.  398. 
Hoodie,  The,  and  the  Fox,  iii.  121. 


INDEX. 


471 


Hoodie,  The,  Catechising  the  Young 
One,  iii.  120. 

Hoodie,  The,  L  63-66 ;  similar  tales, 
69 ;  habits  of  the  hoodie,  276. 

Horn,  magic,  L  191. 

Horse-Guards,  cut  copied  from  a  book 
kept  at,  illustrating  the  dress  of  the 
"  Forty-Second"  in  1742,  iv.  381. 

Horse-shoes,  ii.  87. 

Horse,  story  of  a,  doomed  to  be  hang- 
ed, ii  381. 

Horses,  place  assigned  to,  in  old  tra- 
ditions, i.  lxxxv.  ;  ii.  349. 

Hospitality  at  Highland  funerals,  i. 
235. 

Hounds,  in  popular  tales,  i  lxxxix., 
zc. ;  woodcut  illustrative  of  hounds 
and  huntsmen,  iii  287. 

How  the  Een  was  set  up,  iii.  831-838. 

Humboldt,  iv.  107. 

Hunting  in  the  Highlands,  i  lxxxvii. ; 
see  iii.  287. 


Iain  Lorn  (John  Macdonald),  iv.  85, 
166,  203. 

Iceland,  wonders  of,  probable  ground- 
work of  popular  tales,  ii  467 ;  court 
of  appeal  in,  iii  211 ;  practice  in,  as 
regards  vows,  214 ;  sagas  of,  215, 
226,  263,  868;  see  also  iv.  344-346. 

"  Idylls  of  the  King,"  iv.  6, 128. 

Illustrations  from  sculptured  stones, 
etc.,  iii.  35,  49,  117,  122,  123,  154, 
156,  180,  206,  231,  242,  287,  339, 
861 ;  iv.  38,  47,  56,  57,  58,  168,  326, 
333,  339,  362,  363,  365,  373,  877, 
378,  381,  382,  884,  387,  390,  391,  899, 
400,  401,  407. 

Inch  Brayoc,  sculptured  stone  in  the 
cemetery  of,  iii.  206 ;  iv.  385. 

Inch,  the  brownie  of,  i.  zciii. 

Indian  mythology,  i.  lxxxv. 

Indo-European  races,  their  Asiatic 
origin,  and  westward  destination, 
i.  xvi. 

Inheritance,  The,  ii  16-19. 

Innes,  Cosmo,  his  historical  works 
referred  to,  u  xxxix.,  xcix.,  99,  274 ; 
ii.  364,  865 ;  iv.  52,  70,  367,  370. 

Iona,  island  of,  iv.  38,  39. 

Ireland,  first  book  printed  in,  iv.  69. 

Ireland;  the  Finn  in,  L  xiiL,  xL  ; 
tales  relating  to,  xli. ;  equestrian- 
ism in,  Ityyìt- 

Irish  character,  first  book  printed  in, 
iv.  70. 

Irish  opinions,  current,  on  Ossian's 
poems,  iv.  10, 11. 


Irish,  the,  a  branch  of  the  Celtic  clan* 

L  cxi. 
Iron,  mysterious  virtue  attributed  to, 

L  lxxv.  ;  weapons  of,  lxxii.-lxxiv. ; 

ii.  86-100. 
Irrlander  (Irren),  the,  iv.  368,  369, 

371-374. 
Irving,  Dr.,  of  Edinburgh,  iv.  24 ;  his 

History  of  Scottish  Poetry  referred 

to,  53,  54,  59,  67,  68. 
Island  elves,  it  55. 
Islay,    celebrated   smith  in,  ii  51 ; 

doctors  in,  365. 
Isle  of  Pabaidh,  ii.  41. 
Italian  tales.    See  Straparola. 
Ivy,  sacred,  iv.  398. 


Jack  and  the  Bean-stalk,  i.  266. 

Jack  the  Giant-killer,  iii.  184  ;  Manks 
version,  i.  Iv. ;  Erse  version,  iL  327. 

Jame8one,  the  Scotch  painter,  iv.  370. 

Japan,  story-tellers  in,  L  xvii. 

Java,  account  of  a  bronze  saciiflcial 
vessel  brought  from,  iv.  391-395. 

Jellies  which  are  attributed  to  the 
stars,  ii.  190. 

Jew  of  Venice,  Shakspeare's,  ii.  13. 

John,  son  of  the  king  of  Bergen,  a 
unique  poetical  fragment,  iii.  282- 
286. 

Johnson,  Rev.  James,  on  the  Norwe- 
gian expedition  against  Scotland, 
iv.  46. 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  i.  xxxviii.,  xciiL; 
iL  106 ;  his  opinion  as  to  the  authen- 
ticity of  Ossian's  Poems,  iv.  16 ;  re- 
ferred to,  61,  92,  96-98,  369. 

Johnson's  Poets,  i.  xxxvi. 

Jones,  Owen,  iv.  23,  270,  271,  382, 
385. 

Julien,  Stanislaus,  i.  xliii. 

Jupiter  and  the  Fates,  iv.  313. 

Jura,  the  Big  Women  of,  ii.  850. 


Keg  of  Butter,  fable  of  the,  iii.  96-99. 
Kelpie,  the,  ii.  193. 
Kelso,  Abbot  of,  i.  xcix. 
Kennedy,  Duncan,  his  MS.  collection 

of  Gaelic  poetry,  iv.  92-96,  104,  181, 

132,  410. 
Kiln-drying  malt,  L  218. 
Kilwich  and  Olwen,  Welsh  story  of, 

iv.  282. 
King  Lear  and  his  Daughters,  iv.  125. 
King  of  Lochlin's  Three  Daughters,  L 

236-243 ;  similar  stories,  249.  250 ; 

moral  of  the  tale,  249.    See  iii.  23. 


472 


INDEX. 


King,  The,  who  wished  to  marry  his 
Daughter,  L  219-223  ;  other  versions 
and  similar  tales,  224-229. 

King,  The,  of  the  World,  iiL  347. 

King's  Fish,  The,  iiL  844,  345. 

Kirk,  Rev.  Robert,  his  Gaelic  Psalter, 
iv.  76,  225. 

Kirkcudbright,  the  fairies  of,  ii.  5541. 

Knight,  the,  of  Greenock,  iiL  19. 

Knight,  The,  of  the  Red  Shield,  ii 
430-164 ;  groundwork  of,  common 
to  many  other  tales,  409-476.  See 
iiL  186 ;  iv.  163. 

Knox,  John,  ii.  238. 


Ladders,  Highland,  L  62. 

Lady,  the,  of  the  Fountain,  iv.  274, 
275. 

Laing,  Malcolm,  iv.  107. 

Lamartine,  iv.  107. 

Lament,  the,  of  Coluinn  the  sprite, 
ii.  90,  91. 

Land,  notion  of  a,  under  the  waves, 
iiL  410  ;  appears  in  tales  of  various 
countries,  411-413,  422.  See  Sun 
God. 

Lane,  Mr.,  i.  1 :  iv.  325. 

Language,  modern  science  of,  its  prin- 
ciples, iv.  305. 

Language  of  Ossian,  iv.  15. 

Language  of  the  Celts,  i.  ex.  cxi.  ;  the 
spoken  Gaelic  of  the  tales  in  this 
work,  cxx.  -exxiii.  See  Gaelic  tongue. 

Lapland,  journal  of  a  tour  in,  i.  cii.- 
cvii.  ;  ii.  194,  386  ;  method  of  roast- 
ing fish  in,  iii.  336. 

Lapp  Camp,  i.  cii.  ;  ii.  46 ;  similarity 
of  the  camp  scenes  to  Scotch  fairy 
tales,  i.  cvii. ;  iv.  344. 

Lapps  or  Finns,  iv.  29 ;  huts  of  the, 
395,  396. 

Latham's  English  Handbook,  iv.  356. 

Lay  of  Magnus,  iii.  350-369 ;  notes  on, 
346,  347  ;  iv.  45,  102. 

Lay  of  Osgar,  iii.  304-328  ;  illustrative 
notes,  328-331 ;  incidents  of  an  Irish 
poem  somewhat  similar,  301,  302  ; 
numerous  versions  of  the  same  story, 
303 ;  iv.  138. 

Lay  of  the  Great  Fool,  story  of,  iii. 
146-149 ;  the  poem,  154-176  ;  remarks 
on,  150-153  ;  iv.  115,  262,  276. 

Lay,  The,  of  Diarmaid,  story  of,  in 
different  versions,  iii.  54-63,  81,  82  ; 
poem  so  called,  64-74 ;  date  of,  62  ; 
Dr.  Smith's  version,  62 ;  notes  on, 
74-78,  394 ;  remarks  on  other  ver- 
sions, iv.  131-133. 


Leacan,  Book  of,  iv.  S3,  5L 

Leech,  Farquhar,  ii  865. 

Legal  documents  in  Gaelic,  iv.  41, 51, 

74,  77. 
Legends  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  i.  liii.-iv. 
Leinster,  Book  of,  iv.  26,  83,  42. 
Letters  to  the  author  on  the  Ossianie 

controversy,  iv.  217-247. 
Libraries,    national    and    collegiate, 

paucity  of  Gaelic   books   in,  iv, 

346. 
Light,  the  King  of,  iiL  847. 
Light,  White  Sword  of,  see  Sword; 

circle  of,  iv.  320. 
Lindsay,  Sir  David,  iv.  67,  68, 
Lions,  L  22  :  iv.  267. 
Lisraore,  Dean  of,  his  MS,,  iiL  295, 

302  ;  iv.  60  ;  its  importance  in  the 

Ossianie  controversy,  iv.  61-47,  ISO; 

publication  of  Selections  from,  40k 
Liturgy,  the  Irish,  iv.  69. 
Livingstone,  Dr.,  L  lxvL 
Livingstone,  William,  the  Islay  bard, 

iv.  215,  268. 
Lochawe,  lords  of,  iv.  48. 
Lochlan  (Scandinavia),  L  xlii.,  lxix., 

lxxvL,  cxviL,  155 ;  iL  187;  iiL  287, 

368,  it  al. 
Loch  Ness,  The  Origin  of,  iL  136. 
Locomotion  in  the  eleventh  century, 

iiL  254,  255. 
Lorn,  Iain,  iv.  35,  166,  203. 
Looking-glass,  as  a  symbol  on  sculp- 
tured stones,  iii.  340. 
Loup  Garou,  the  French,  iL  99 ;  iv. 

260. 
Lynedoch,  Lord,  L  xxxviL  ;  iv.  108. 


Mabinogion,  the,  iv.  274-277. 
Macabuin,  i.  liiL,  lxxii. 
Mac-a-Rusgaich,  iL   304-318;  similar 

story,  327. 
Macauìay,  the  big,  iv.  49. 
MacCall urn's  collection  of  traditional 

ballads,  iii.  295,  378,  384;  iv.  116, 

117,  131,  143,  272,  413. 
MacCodrum,  John,  a  modern  Gaelic 

poet,  iv.  198,  199. 
MacColl,  Evan,  theLochfine-side  bard, 

iv.  215. 
MacCumhal,  Finn,  iv.  27,  28,  33,  48. 
Macdonald,  Alex. ,  his  volume  of  songs, 

iv.  78,  199,  200. 
Macdonald,  Christian,  iv.  178. 
Macdonalds,  clan  of,  iii.  107  ;  see  also 

iv.  400. 
MacDonald,  Donald,  a  modern  Gaelic 

bard,  iv.  180. 


INDEX. 


473 


MacDonald's  Gaelic  vocabulary,  iv. 
78. 

MacDonald,  John  (Iain  Lorn),  iv.  85, 
16«,  203. 

MacDonald,  John,  tinker,  i.  174 ;  iv. 
279. 

MacDonald,  Mr.  Hugh,  iv.  82. 

MacDonald  of  Staffa,  his  MS.  collec- 
tion in  Advocates'  Library,  iv.  102, 
412. 

MacDonald,  Ranald,  his  printed  col- 
lection or  Gaelic  ballads,  iv.  410. 

MacDougall,  Allan,  a  modern  bard, 
iv.  184, 185. 

MacDngalds,  clan  of,  iii.  107. 

Macgowans,  the,  of  Tongland,  ii  59. 

MacGregor,  James,  Dean  of  Lismore, 
iii.  80S,  899 ;  iv.  19.  See  Lismore. 

Mac  Ian  Direach,  ii  828-340;  other 
versions,  349-360. 

Maclntyre,  Donald  M.  M.,  i  xxx., 
xxxiii,  lvi. ;  ii.  24;  iv.  218. 

Macintyre,  Duncan,  the  Breadalbane 
bard,  iv.  31, 189-196. 

Macintyre,  Flora,  iv.  85. 

Mackay,  John,  the  Blind  Piper,  his 
poems,  iv.  200. 

Mackay,  Robert,  a  modern  Gaelic  poet, 
iv.  196. 

Mackenzie,  Henry,  iv.  107. 

Mackenzie,  John,  one  of  the  narrators, 
i  38  ;  iv.  285. 

Mackenzie,  John,  his  "Beauties  of 
Gaelic  Poetry,"  ii.  381 ;  iv.  35, 107. 

Mackenzie,  Osgood,  ii.  68, 100 ;  iv.  129. 

MacEenzie,  Sir  Kenneth,  t  xxv. ;  iii. 
152 ;  iv.  131. 

MacKinnon,  Angus,  iii.  286. 

MacKinnon,  Lachlan,  his  Gaelic  songs, 
iv.  202. 

MacKinon,  Alexander,  iv.  180. 

MacLachlan,  Eamonn,  his  collection 
of  poems,  iv.  74. 

MacLachlan,  Ewen,  ii.  88 ;  iv.  143, 181. 

MacLauchlan,  Rev.  Thomas,  i.  xxv., 
xcii,  cxxxiv.  ;  ii.  229,  257,  261 ;  iii 
145,  295 ;  iv.  62,  129. 

MacLean,  Hector,  his  account  of  tale- 
reciting  among  the  Highland  pea- 
santry, i  xii-xiv.,  xxv.,  cxvii  ;  iii 
889, 390,  394 ;  iv.  128 ;  on  the  Gaelic 
of  the  bards,  iv.  160,  et  seq. 

Maclean,  Mr.  Hugh,  iv.  129. 

MacLean,  Rev.  Duncan,  iv.  218. 

MacLeans,  the,  iv.  13. 

MacLeod,  Dr.,  i.  xx.  ;  iv.  227. 

MacLeod,  Mary,  her  Gaelic  verses,  iv. 
203. 

MacLeod,  Sir  Norman,  iv.  74. 


MacNicol,  Rev.   Donald,  iv.  96-99, 

258. 
MacPhail,  Ewan,  iv.  71. 
MacPherson,  editor  of  Ossian,  l  xxxv.  - 

xxxix.;  ii   106;  iii  303,  346;  iv. 

passim. 
MacPherson,  Mr.  Ewen,  iv.  82. 
MacPherson,  Mr.  Lachlan,  of  Strath- 

mashie,  iv.  83,  87, 196. 
MacPhie,  Donald,  i  xxix.,  xxx.,  lxi, 

21. 
MacQuae,  Captain,  ii.  370. 
MacQueen,  Rory,  iv.  219. 
MacTavish,  Mrs.,  i  xxv.,  xciii  ;  ii  51- 

53,  133,  350,  865,  370,  478 ;  iii.  60 ; 

iv.  321. 
MacTavish,  Rev.  Mr.,  i  277. 
Maghach  Colgar,  ii  168-179;  remarks 

on  similar  stories,  186-188.     See  i 

lxxi  ;  iii.  402. 
Magical    combs,    i     Ixxvii-lxxxi ; 

swords,  lxxii-lxxiv. ;  apples,  Ixxxi- 

lxxxiv. ;  horns,  191 ;  boxes,  ii  303. 
Magnus  (Manus),  the  Lay  of,  see  Lay 

of  Magnus. 
MakCoul  iv.  27,  28,  52. 
Manain  (Man),  island  of,  iv.  70. 
Man,  Isle  of,  peculiarly  Celtic,  i  L ,  li ; 

ineffectual    attempts    to    extract 

stories,    Iii ;    similarity    between 

Manks  customs  and  those  of  Western 

Isles,  liii  ;  stories  gleaned  during  a 

trip  of  live  days,  liii.  -Iv.    See  iv.  299 ; 

the  "  Legs  of  Man,"  iv.  886,  887. 
Manks,  the,  a  branch  of  the  Celtic 

clan,  i  cxi. ;  their  fairy  creed,  ii.69, 

70 ;  iv.  385. 
Manners,  as  exhibited  in  the  popular 

tales,  i.  lxviii-lxx. 
Manus,  illustration  of,  with  descrip- 
tive notes,  iii  348,  349. 
Manuscripts  belonging  to  Highland 

Society,   ii   472.     See  Advocates' 

Library. 
Maol  a  Chliobain,  i  251-256;  other 

versions,  259-265;  similar  stories, 

265  266 
Martin,  i'ix.,  xix. ;  ii  134  ;  iv.  15. 
Martin,  a  Lewes  doctor,  iv.  77. 
Martin,  Henri,  i  cxi. 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  amusements  of 

her  court,  ii.  238. 
Mary's  WeU,  ii  134. 
Master,  The,  and  his  Man,  iii.  288- 

290. 
May-day,  the  night  following,  a  busy 

season  with  fairies  and  witches,  ii 

53 ;  iv.  402. 
Mediaeval  romances,  iv.  259-269. 


474 


INDEX. 


Mermen  and  mermaids,  iii  410.  411. 
Metempsychosis,  doctrine  of,  iii  23. 
Mice,  i.  62,  279 ;  iv.  267. 
Migrations,    popular,  from  East  to 

West,  i  xvi,  lxiv.,  lxxxix.,  212. 
Milesian  race,  the,  iv.  28,  314. 
Mill  story,  ii.  189. 
Minstrels,  wandering,  iv.  46. 
Mistletoe,  i  zciv. ;  dancing  about  the, 

iv.  815. 
Modern  Gaelic  bards,  iv.  178,  et  seq. 
Molluka  beans,  i  ix. 
Mommsen,  L  102. 
Monk,  The,  and  the  Miller's  Wife,  ii 

228. 
Monro,  Mr.  Donald,  Dean  of  the  Isles, 

iv.  70,  357,  375. 
Mons  Grampius,  battle  of,  iv.  268. 
Monuments,    representations   on,   i 

lxxx.    See  Art;  Design. 
Moors,  exploits  of  modern,  and  tradi- 
tional fictions,  i  Ixx,  bad. 
Morison,  Roderick,  the  Blind  Harper, 

poems  of,  iv.  201. 
Morrison,  Captain,  iv.  104. 
"  Morte  Arthur,"  iv.  7, 125,  263-266. 
Moslem  bridge  to  Paradise,  i.  262. 
"  Mother's  Blessing,"  i.  51. 
Muilearteach,  The  Yellow,   ill  122- 

142 ;  notes  on,  142-146;  see  345 ;  iv. 

44. 
Miiller,  Max,  i.  191. 
Murachadh  Mac  Brian,    ii.   195-206; 

notices  of  similar  tales,  215,  216 ; 

iv.  276,  326. 
Murchag  a  'a  Mionachag,  i.  157-160  ; 

similar  tales,  160. 
Murchison,  Sir  Roderick,  iv.  156. 
Murray,  Regent,  supposed  picture  of, 

i  21  ;  iv.  865,  370,  371. 
Music,  illustrations  connected  with ; 

satire  on  the  pipes,  dancing,  etc., 

iv.  56,  57 ;  remarks  on  Celtic  music, 

404,  405. 
Musical  airs ;  a  Sprite's  Lament,  ii. 

91 ;  Song  of  the  Red,  iii  51 ;  Dan 

Chaoilte,  iv.  321. 
Mysteries  of  the  Druids,  i.  xciii. 
Mythology ;  origin  of  popular  tales, 

different  opinions  regarding  the,  iv. 

800-305  ;    Aryan   theory,    305-307 ; 

West  Highland  Stories,  314,  et  seq. 

See  Tales. 


Napoleon  III.,  apparition  to,  ii.  72. 

Narrators  of  these  Tales,  names  of, 
see  Contents,  vols,  i.,  ii.,  and  iii., 
and  List  of  Stories,  iv.  415,  et  seq. 


New  Testament,  Irish,  iv.  71. 

New  year's  eve,  customs  on,  iii.  19. 

Nicholson,  Mr.,  iii  153 ;  iv.  131. 

Niebelungen  Lied,  i  lxxiii. ;  ii  435. 

Nighean  High  fo  Thuinn,  iii  403-120. 

Njal  Saga,  iii.  209,  218,  254,  356 ;  iv. 
29,  43,  179,  252. 

Norse  Tales,  i  xlv.,  lxxiii,  et  seq., 
22,  61,  101,  226,  249,  266,  273,  352  ; 
ii  228,  237,  257,  275,  303,  367,  382, 
435,  467 ;  iii  90 ;  iv.  277,  279,  283, 
289,  299. 

Norsemen  in  Ireland,  iii  332 ;  Brian's 
battle  with,  iv.  42-45.  •  * 

Norwegian  and  West  Highland  pea- 
santry contrasted,  i  xxvi. 

Norwegian  Expedition  against  Scot- 
land in  1263,  iv.  46-48. 

Nursery  tales,  origin  of,  iii  19 ;  iv.  318. 


Oak-trees,  in  mythology,  i.  xciL  ;  ii 
360  ;  iv.  398. 

Ocean,  circumambient,  i  101.  : 

O'Connor,  Charles,  iv.  17. 

O'Curry,  Professor,  iv.  25,  81,  261, 
360. 

O'Daly,  Mr.,  iv.  116. 

Odin,  i  lxxiii,  100,  277. 

Odyssey,  Cyclop  of  the,  i  154,  264 ; 
ii.  193. 

Offerings  at  wells,  ii  134. 

O'Flanagan,  iv.  22. 

Olladh  Reach  (Islay  doctor),  ii  365. 

OUadh  Muileach (Mull doctor),  ii.  367. 

Origin  of  this  Collection  of  Tales,  i 
xxi.  ;  difficulties  encountered,  xxii- 
xxv. ;  names  of  coadjutors,  xxv. ; 
names  of  narrators,  see  Tables  of 
Contents,  and  List  in  iv.  415,  et  seq. 

Origin  of  popular  tales,  current  opi- 
nions as  to,  iv.  300,  et  seq. 

Ornaments  and  ornamental  writings, 
on  stone,  pottery,  etc.,  iv.  382,  et 
seq. 

Orthography,  Gaelic,  i.  cxxi.-cxxiii ; 
iv.  133. 

Osean  after  the  Feen,  ii  102-104; 
other  versions,  106-109. 

Osgar,  the  son  of  Osein,  ii.  187;  iii 
295-300 ;  remarks  on,  300,  301. 

Ossian  (Oisean,  Osin),  ii  186  ;  ortho- 
graphy of  the  name,  iv.  5 ;  Gaelic  of, 
133-135,  142-160,  173,  177. 

Ossian,  poems  of,  i  xxxii,  lxxxvii, 
156 ;  ii.  81 ;  report  of  Highland  So- 
ciety on,  i  xxxvii. ;  subject  of,  iii 
54-59 ;  iv.  passim.    See  Ballads. 

Ossianic  controversy,  i  xxxv.-xli  ;  ii 


INDEX. 


475 


473;  popular  account  of,  ii  106; 

.  points  for  argument,  iv.  5,  6 ;  state- 
ment of  the  case,  7;  current  opi- 
nions— English,  8;  Scotch,  9,  10; 
Irish,  10,  11J;  the  Irish  argument 
discussed,  12-24 ;  heroes  of  Ossian, 
who  and  what  were  they?  25-37 ; 
examination  of  traditions,  writings, 
etc,  37-103;  author's  theory  as  to 
the  Gaelic  of  MacPherson's  Ossian, 
80-82 ;  published  evidence,  103-123; 
evidence  afforded  by  popular  bal- 
lads, 123-128 ;  by  current  Gaelic 
traditions,  128-142 ;  Gaelic  of  Ossian 
published,  113 ;  examination  of  in- 
ternal evidence,  142-160;  of  the 
Gaelic  of  known  and  unknown 
bards,  published  and  traditional, 
160-248 ;  conclusion  arrived  at,  248- 
252 ;  Ossianic  proverbs,  252-256  ; 
family  history,  256-258. 

Ossianic  Society  of  Dublin,  iii  55,  63, 
188,  301,  336, 346,  388,  399 ;  iv.  10, 
tt  aeq.,  99, 109, 115,  272. 

Otterbourne,  battle  of,  a  ballad,  iv. 
123. 

Otters,  in  mythical  tales,  i  xcv.,  22. 

Owl,  The,  a  poem,  iv.  207-211. 


Fabaidh,  The  Isle  of,  ii.  41. 

Pattieson,  Rev.  Thomas,  i  cxxxiv., 
ii.  191,  193 ;  iv.  129,  335. 

Paul  of  the  nine  clerks,  ii  109. 

Peasantry  of  West  Highlands  and  of 
Norway  contrasted,  L  xxvi 

Percy,  Bishop,  iv.  60, 123, 128. 

Peredur,  iv.  278,  279,  281. 

Perseus  and  Andromeda,  i  102;  ii 
371. 

"Peter  Wilkins  and  the  Flying  La- 
dies," i  192. 

Philology,  science  of,  iv.  305-307. 

Phoenician  traders,  early,  iv.  314. 

Picts,  i  cii  ;  towers  of,  iii  43,  107 ; 
traditional  references  to,  iv.  38,  39. 

Pictures,  illustrative  of  ancient  High- 
land costume,  iv.  369,  et  seq.  See 
Dress. 

Pigs,  their  place  in  popular  tales,  i 
xci  ;  regarded  as  sacred  amongst 
the  Gauls,  xcii  ;  prejudice  amongst 
the  Highlanders  against  eating, 
xcii 

Pinkerton's  "Scottish  Poets,"  ii  228. 

Pi8kies,  the,  of  Devonshire,  U.  71. 

Plaids  and  kilts,  iv.  376-381. 

Playfair,  Professor,  iv.  99. 

Plea  for  Gaelic,  a,  iv.  346-364. 


Poor  Brother,  The,  and  the  Rich,  i 
230-232. 

Pope,  Rev.  Mr.,  of  Reay,  iv.  79,  410. 

Popular  lore  in  the  West  Highlands, 
i  xxxii-xlv. ;  its  various  branches, 
and  their  votaries,  lvt,  lvii  ;  popu- 
lar ballads,  iv.  123-128,  160-248. 

Powder-horns,  designs  carved  on, 
illustrative  of  Celtic  art,  iv.  401. 

Powel,  Humphrey,  iv.  69. 

Prayer-book,  Gaelic,  iv.  18,  69. 

Preservation  of  popular  tales,  illus- 
trated, ii  467,  468. 

Prichard,  Dr.,  i  23  ;  iv.  347. 

Proverbs,  i  xliv.,  cxvii  ;  iii  420 ;  iv. 
252-256. 

"  Provost  of  London,"  i  280. 

Psalms,  Gaelic,  iv.  74,  76. 

Puss  in  Boots,  ii  354. 

Puzzle,  A.,  ii  25,  26. 


Queen,  The  Sick,  ii  130-132;  many 
versions  still  current  in  Scotland, 
183. 

Querns,  i  70. 

Questions,  The  Three,  ii  391-393. 

Questions  of  Fionn,  iii  36-39. 

Quiggin,  Mary,  i  xl 


Rainbows  over  falls,  i  262. 
Rampsinitus,  classical  story  of,  i  352. 
Ramsay,  Allan,  i  235 ;  iv.  69. 
Rats,  country  of,  ii.  303. 
Ravens,  i  52,277 ;  iii  20,330 ;  iv.44,291. 
Rawlinson,  Colonel,  quoted  or  referred 

to,  i  lxxiii,  cxii,  352 ;  ii  370, 871. 
Reciters  of  the  Tales,  names  of.    See 

Tables  of  Contents ;  and  List,  iv. 

415,  et  aeq. 
Red  Book  of  Appin,  ii  87-89 ;  of  Clan- 

rannald,  ii.  106 ;  of  Wales,  iv.  281. 
Reiper-shooting  in  Lapland,  i.  cv. 
Reviews  of  this  work,  remarks  on,  iv. 

1-4. 
Rhonabwy,  the  dream  of,  a  Welsh 

tradition,  iv.  291. 
Rhymes  of  fairies,  ii  54. 
Ribin,  Robin,  and  Levi  the  Dun,  ii 

229. 
Riches  got  by  killing  a  dead  body,  in- 
cident of,  ii  236. 
Riddles  and  puzzles,  i  xliii;  ii  25, 

894-409. 
Ridere  (Knight),  The,  of  Riddles,  ii 

27-32 :  see  also  iii.  19. 
Rings,  gold,  iii  399. 
River-gods,  i  lxxxvi 


476 


INDEX. 


Rixxk),  David,  it  238. 

Robertson,  Rev.  James,  of  Callander, 

iv.  401. 
Robertson,  James  (InveraryX  *•  xxL 

260. 
Rock-climbing,  iiL  21. 
"  Roman  d'  Alexandre,"  translation  of, 

into  Gaelic,  iv.  70. 
Romance  and  modern  civilization,  L 

xxxL 
Romances,  semi-historical,   iiL  333; 

mediaeval,  iv.  259-369. 
Romulus  and  Remus,  L  274 ;  ii.  34. 
Roncevalles,  iv.  268. 
Ross,  William,  a  modern  bard,   iv. 

185-189. 
Ross,  Rev.  Thomas,  of  Edinburgh,  iv. 

155. 
Ross-shire  stories  of  fairies,  ii.  67,  68. 
Rowan-tree,  magical,  iiL  61. 
Runic  knots,  iv.  400. 
Rushes,  mysterious,  L  zcvL 


8agas,  Icelandic,  iii.  215, 226,  263, 368 ; 
iv.  345. 

Saint,  the,  and  the  Fisherman,  iiL 
335. 

8t  Andrews,  sculptured  stones  at,  iv. 
38,  369,  379,  388-391,  395. 

St  Columtia,  iv.  39. 

8t.  George  and  the  Dragon,  L  102; 
iL  871. 

8t  Xinian,  iv.  8S. 

8t  Patrick,  ii.  109,  134,  371;  iiL  86, 
303  ;  iv.  26,  31,  3S,  26$. 

8anntraigh,  ii.  42,  43. 

8anscrit  and  Gaelic,  alliance  between, 
iv.  347-350,  360. 

8apaid,  i.  xlii. 

8awdust,  proverb  regarding,  iiL  336. 

Baying  grace,  i.  267. 

Scandinavia,  tales  relating  to,  i.  xli. 

Scimitar,  worship  of  the,  i.  lxxiv.  ;  iL 
350. 

8cotch,  frugality  of  the,  iii.  290 ;  cur- 
rent opinions  among,  in  regard  to 
Ossian's  poems,  iv.  9,  '0. 

8cott,  Sir  Walter,  iv.  124,  126. 

Sculptured  Stones  of  Scotland,  illus- 
trations from,  iii.  35,  49,  117,  122, 
123,  154,  155,  ISO,  206,  231,  242,  287, 
339,  361  ;  iv.  3S,  47,  362,  363. 

Scythia,  people  of,  L  cxii.,  cxiii.  ; 
tombs  of,  lxxiii.  ;  language  of,  cxiii. 

Seanekl,  Countess  of,  iL  65. 

Sea-horse,  iiL  411 ;  iv.  337,  339. 

8ea-Maiden,  the,  i.  71-84 ;  other  ver- 
sions, 93-100;  common  to  various 


countries,  lxiiL,  101.  102 ;  referred 

to,  IzL,  22 ;  its  moral  lesson,  101 
Sea-monsters,  iL  370-372. 
Sea-serpents,  illustrations  of,  iv.  338. 
Sea-snakes,  iL  370-372, 
Sea-swallows,  iiL  21. 
Seann  Dana,  Dr.  J.  Smith's,  iiL  44, 49, 

62, 150;  iv.  129, 130,  157,  209,  2*4, 

412. 
Seannachas  of  the  Fine,  L  xxxiL,  xL ; 

iL  79,434. 
Serpents,  in  mythology,  L  xcv.,xcvL ; 

iL  366-369. 
Seymour,  Lord  Webb,  iv.  90. 
Sgeulachd  (romance),  L  xxiL,  xlviL ; 

iv.  46,  225. 
8gialachdan  (storytelling),  i.  xxviL 
Sgire  mo  Chealag,   The  Tale  of,  iL 

373-377 ;  similar  stories,  and  other 

versions,  381-388. 
Shakspeare,  L  xlviii.  ;  iL  13 ;  iv.  298. 
Shamas  (JamesX  King,  L  xliL 
Shanachie  (Sennachie),  a,  defined,  iv. 

16. 
Shaw,  Colonel,  iv.  21. 
Shaw,  John,  a  modern  bard,  iv.182- 

184. 
Sheep,  The  Sharp  Grey,  iL  286-2895 

similar  tales,  291,  292. 
Shepherds,  The  Two,  iL  82-84. 
Shields,  L  264  ;  iv.  44. 
Shifty  Lad,  Tale  of  the,  L  820-338; 

similar  stories,  352. 
Shinny,  game  of,  iii.  19,  181,  215,  217. 
Ship,  enchanted,  i.  249. 
Shirra  Muir,  battle  of,  L  xliL 
Shirt,  magical,  i.  xcv. 
Shortshanks,   Norse  tale  of,    L  101, 

249. 
Sibbald's    "  Chronicle     of     Scotch 

Poetry  "  ii.  22S. 
Simpson,'  Mr.  J.  H.,  iL  107,  215,  435 ; 

iii.  402. 
Sinclair,  Mr.  Archibald,  of  Glasgow, 

letter  from,  iv.  221-229. 
Sinclair,  Sir  John,  iv.  155. 
"  Sir  Bevis  of  Hamptown,"  iv.  267. 
"  Sir  Guy  of  Warwick,"  iv.  266. 
"  8ir  Lancelot,"  a  popular  metrical 

romance,  iv.  124,  263. 
"  Sir  Tristrera,"  a  Scotch  poem  treat- 
ing of  Celtic  worthies,  iv.  36,  261. 
Skene,  Mr.  W.  F.,  iL  80,  187 ;  iv.  860. 
Skin  boats,  ii.  303. 
Slaves  in  Scotland,  i.  xcix. 
8mith,  Colonel  Hamilton,  on  Ossian's 

Poems,  L  xxxvii. 
Smith,  Dr.  Donald,  iv.  95. 
Smith,  Dr.  John,  L  xx.,  xxxv. ;  iL  106, 


INDEX. 


477 


472  ;  iii  44,  49,  62, 150 ;  iv.  80, 100, 

129,  157,  209,  224,  412. 
Smith,  Patrick,  i  xxx.,  xxxiii 
Smith,  The,  and  the  Fairies,  ii  47-50 ; 

similar  story,  85. 
Smiths,  tales  about,  L  lxxv.,  lxxvi  ; 

iii.  368,  893. 
Snakes  and  snake-charmers,  i.  52 ;  ii. 

869. 
Solar  worship,  L  xcvii ;  ii  857-860 ; 

iii.  338,  347 ;  iv.  157,  312-820,  386. 
Soldiers,  The  Three,  i  176-183 ;  other 

versions,  188-192. 
Son  of  the  Scottish  Yeoman.     See 

Yeoman. 
Son  of  Light,  iii  263. 
Song  of  the  Red  {Dan  an  Dearg),  re- 
marks on,  by  Mrs.  MacTavish,  iii. 

60 ;  music  of,  51. 
Song  of  the  Smithy,  iii  376-386 ;  notes 

on,  388;  other  versions,  388,  390- 

402. 
Songs,  i  zliv. ;  volume  of  Gaelic,  first 

published,  iv.  78. 
Songs,  Old  Gaelic,  anonymous,   iv. 

204-211. 
Soothsaying  by  birds,  i  xciv. ;  iii. 

830. 
Sorcha(Sark?  Saracen-land = Africa?), 

king  of,  iii  211,  216,  243,  263. 
Spartan  shepherds,  ii.  368. 
Specimens  of  MacPherson's  Gaelic, 

iv.  83-87. 
Spirits,  stories  illustrative  of  the  po- 
pular creed  as  to,  ii  85-100. 
"  Spiritual  Manifestations,"  ii  72. 
"  Standing  stones,"  iv.  397,  et  acq. 
Stag-hounds,  iii.  287,  295. 
Step-mother  story,  a,  iii.  421,  422. 
Stewart,  Alexander  and  Donald,  their 

collection  of  the  Works  of  the  High- 
land bards  published,  iv.  102,  272, 

412. 
Stewart,  Captain,  of  Colonsay,  ii  474. 
Stewart,  Grant,  ii.  46,  85. 
Stone  circles  of  Scotland,  iv.  401. 
Stone,  Mr.  Jerome,  his  translation  of 

Fraoch,  iv.  78,  79. 
Storyology,  i.  x.,  xi  ;  systematic  de- 
velopment of,  iv.  808-313. 
Straparola,   i  227-229,  266,  852;  ii 

237,  263  ;  iii.  412 ;  iv.  277,  281,  289, 

803. 
Strathmashie,  MacPherson  "of,  iv.  83, 

87,196. 
Stuart,  Prince  Alexander,  ii  365. 
Bun   God,  mysterious  country  over 

which  he  was  supposed  to  preside, 

iv.  812,  319,  322. 


Sun  Goddess,  ii  857-360 ;  sun-worship 
in  Ossianic  poetry,  iv.  157,  386. 

Sunwise,  things  done,  in  the  High- 
lands, iv.  402,  403.    See  Fire. 

Supernatural  beings  (bocan,  fuath, 
etc.),  ii.  87-101  ;  iv.  300-344. 

Superstitions,  Highland,  i  cxix. ;  the 
best  treatment  for,  cxxxv. ;  see  also 
iv.  300-346,  401-403. 

Surnames  derived  from  Fenian  tradi- 
tions, iv.  172. 

Sutherland  stories  of  fairies,  ii  61-65. 

Sword  of  Light,  White,  i  lxxii, 
lxxvii,8,24,268;ii  349, 355 ;  iii  340. 

Sword-worship  among  the  Scythians, 
i  lxxiii  ;  ii.  350. 

Swords  and  guns,  i  lxxvii ;  ii  51, 849 ; 
iv.  44, 168. 

Symbols,  fish  as,  on  sculptured  stones, 
iii  338-340;  meaning  of,  iv.  385. 


Table  of  King  Arthur,  iv.  403. 

Tain,  The,  a  poem,  iv.  40. 

Tale  of  a  Tail,  ii  477 ;  similar  stories, 
477, 478. 

Tale  of  the  Soldier,  ii  276-281;  other 
versions,  285. 

Tale-reciting  among  the  Highland  pea- 
santry, i  xii-xv,  M.,  lvii  ;  ii.  215 ; 
discountenanced  by  clergymen,  i 
xxvii 

Tales,  popular  traditional,  i  x.,  227, 
229;  theory  of  their  distribution, 
xvi  ;  how  they  have  been  regarded 
by  educated  men,  xxi. ;  ii.264 ;  origin 
of  this  collection,  xxi,  xxii  ;  coad- 
jutors in  the  work,  xxv. ;  contrast 
between,  and  modern  book  stories, 
xlix.,  227;  narrative  of  a  collector, 
lviii-lx. ;  garbled  popular  history, 
cxvi ;  in  what  sense  hfstorical,cxvi ; 
fictions  founded  on  facts,  cxix.,  61 ; 
ii  93,  188,  467  ;  changes  in  tales  de- 
pendent on  locality,  ii.  109 ;  their 
antiquity,  388 ;  illustration  of  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  preserved, 
467,  468;  versification  of,  iv.  124- 
128 ;  their  relation  to  ancient  British 
traditions,  259-269 ;  Welsh  and  Gaelic 
compared,  270-299 ;  current  opinions 
as  to  the  origin  of,  300-305  ;  growth 
and  development  of,  illustrated,  SOS- 
SIS. 

Taliesen,  iv.  272, 297-299. 

Tar,  as  a  disinfectant,  ii  53. 

Tartan,  in  Highland  costume,  iv.  866- 
869. 

Taylor,  Mr.,  iv.  129. 


478 


E7DEX. 


Taymouth,  Black  Book  of,  ir.  51,  70, 

71. 
Taymouth,  sketch  taken  from  a  picture 

at,  ir.  3*5,  370. 
Tell,  William,  and  the  apple,  iiL  54. 
Temora,  ir.  1«.  26,  61,  S3,  119, 136-138. 
Tennent,  Sir  Emerson,  ii.  369. 
Texa,  legend  of,  iL  371. 
Thane,  origin  of  the  term,  iL  257. 
Thomas  the  Rfaymour,  iv.  36, 138,  261. 
Thomas  of  the  Thumb,  iiL  114, 115. 
Thongs,  warrior's  dress  of,  L  21. 
Thor,  L  lxxrL  ;  iL  80;  iiL  345,  386. 
Thumb  Carpenters,  family  of  the,  iv. 

36. 
Tinkers,  L  xlriL,  xcr.,  175;  iL  285; 

iiL  387. 
Tlntock,  a  mountain  in  Lanarkshire, 

rhyme  connected  with,  iv.  35L 
Toads,  iL  371 

Tobacco,  quid  of  ,  L  IiL ;  iiL  21. 
Tom  Thumb,  iiL  115,  184. 
Tombstones,  sculptured,  in  the  He- 
brides, iv.  47,  384. 
Torrie,  Mr.  Donald,  L  xxv.,  cxxxhr., 

2S0 ;  hr.  128,  216 ;  letter  from,  iv. 

217-221. 
Tradition  orrnu  books,  L  xxxL,  227 ; 

iL  Id. 
Traditions,  writings,  etc,  connected 

with  Oa«ianic    poetry,   iv.   37-lo3 ; 

current  Gaelic,  Waring  upon,  12S- 

142. 
Train,  J'>*eph,  i.  xL ,  lii. 
Transactions  of  the  <h*sianie  Society 

of    Dublin,    iv.    13.     .$«    Ossianic 

Shifty. 
Tran.-Lati'T.,  different  kinds  of,  iv.  5- 

7.  13-.M42. 
Translations  of  the  Tales,  L  exxiiL- 

cxxviL 
Tnlman,  The,  ii.  30. 
Turner's  collection  of  songs,  etc.,  iv. 

115. 


Clysses,  Adventures  of,  L  154 ;  ii.  193. 

Underground,  people  living,  ii.  275. 

Cnderwaves,  Kin*:,  story  of  the  daugh- 
ter of,  iii.  4«'«3-420.     Ste  Avalon. 

Undine,  legend  <»f,  ii.  65. 

Un}uh*rt,  Hector,  his  account  of  tale- 
reeitin^  amonj:  the  peasantry  of 
R<^s*-shire,  i.  xiv.,  xv.,  xxv.  ;  iv. 
129.  2S5. 

Urskels  (UrsgeuLs),  i.  xx. 


Vatican,  statues  of  the,  L  228. 


Vedaa,  Hindoo,  L  Lux  v.,  xeiv. ;  hr. 

403 ;  the  Yagurveda,  L  19L 
Versification  of  popular  tales,  hr.  114- 

128. 
Vessels,  stone  and  clay,  designs  on, 

hr.  398. 
Vikings,  the,  iiL  233 ;  iv.  40,  48. 
Vfllemarquè,  Hersart  de  la,  hr.  x7t, 

321 :  characteristics  of  his  work  on 

the  Breton  Bards,  271-274. 
Vinland,  America  so  called  by  esrfj 

Icelandic  discoverers,  ir.  345. 
Vocabularies,  Gaelic,  hr.  77,  347. 
Vulcan,  L  LxxvL  ;  iii  347. 


WaMev,  Earl,  of  Dunbar,  L  xcix. 

Warrior's  dress,  iii  349. 

War-song,   an   old,   by  Clanranakfi 

bard,  iv.  205-207. 
Washerwomen,  mystic,  iiL  330. 
Washing   clothes,    soothsaying  con- 
nected with,  iiL  330. 
Water-bulls,  L  xcviL  ;  iv.  328,  334. 
Water-horses,  L  lxxxvt,  xcviL,  264; 

iL  97,  191-193 ;  iv.  330,  337,  338. 
Water-spirits,  iL  191. 
Waves,  town  under  the,  iL  303;  hr. 

321-323. 
Well,  The  Wearie,  at  the  Warldis  End, 

iL  133. 
Wellesley,  Marquess  of,  iv.  21. 
Wells,  mysterious,  L  xciv.  ;  poisonous 

and  healing,  xciv.  ;  ii.  134 ;  iv.  267  ; 

veneration  of,  iL  134,  135,  358 ;  iiL 

33S. 
Welsh  and  Gaelic  poetry,  differences 

between,  iv.  273,  et  seq. 
Welsh,  the,  a  branch  of  the  Celtic  clan, 

L  cxi.  ;  traditions  of,  iv.  270-299. 
Western  Isles,  account  of,  iv.  77. 
West  of  Scotland  Magazine,  iv.  9,  12, 

323  348. 
White  Pet,  Story  of  the,  L  194-197;  its 

counterpart  in  Germany,  199,  200 ; 

stories  of  a  similar  class,  201. 
Widow,  The,  and  her  Daughter,  iL  265- 

270;  notices  of  similar  tales  and 

other  versions,  273-275. 
Widow's  Son,  The,  a  version  of  *'  The 

Battle  of  the  Birds,"  L  47. 
Willow's  Son,  The,  iL  293-302. 
Widows,  The  Three,  iL  218-224  ;  other 

versions,  and  similar  tales,  228-238. 
Wife,  custom  of  buying  a,  iL  14. 
Wilkinson,  Sir  J.  Gardner,  iv.  320, 323. 
Wilson,  Dr.  Daniel,  his  "  Prehistoric 

Annals  of   Scotland"  referred  to, 

L  lxxix. ;  iL  107, 370 ;  iv.  369,  385. 


INDEX. 


479 


"  Winter  nights,  Tales  of  the  Gael  in 
the,"  i.  52. 

Wise  Men,  The  Three,  ii.  20-24. 

Witches,  l  lxxv. ;  ii.  53 ;  Well  of,  ii. 
134. 

Wodrow,  Rev.  John,  of  Islay,  his  edi- 
tion of  "  Fingal,"  iv.  88-92. 

Wolves,  in  mythical  tales,  i.  xcv.  22, 
273 ;  il  99, 101. 

Woroaae,  i.  155  ;  ii  216. 

Worship  of  the  Druids,  i  xciii.,  xcvii. 
See  Druids. 

Worship  of  wells,  ii.  134. 

Wrens,  stories  about,  L  48,  52,  277. 


Yagurveda,  Bràhmana  of  the,  L  191. 

"  Yellow  John,"  L  xxxiii. 

Yeoman's  Son,  The  Scottish,  ii.  239- 

249 ;  other  versions,  257-264. 
Young,  Dr.  *  See  Clonfert,  Bishop  of. 
Youth,  island  of,  in  Celtic  mythology, 

iv.  323. 


Zodiac,  the,  iii.  338,  847 ;  iv.  820,  383, 
387-394. 


Note  1. 

The  Acts  which  relate  to  the  Highland  dress  are — 1  George 
I.,  stat.  2,  c.  54.  11  George  I.,  c.  26.  19  George  II.  c.  39 ; 
Enforced  21  George  I.,  c.  34 ;  Explained,  Amended,  and  Con- 
tinued, 26  George  II.,  c.  39.  So  far  as  relates  to  dress,  repealed 
by  22  George  III.,  c.  63. 

The  arms  forbidden  by  the  first  of  these  Acts,  and  therefore 
commonly  worn  at  that  time,  are  "  broadsword  or  target,  poignard, 
whinger  or  durk,  side  pistol,  gun,  or  other  warlike  weapon." 

Section  17  of  the  19th  George  II.  provides  for  the  dress. 
After  the  1st  of  August  1747  it  was  unlawful  for  civilians,  "  on 
any  pretence  whatsoever,  to  wear  or  put  on  the  clothes  commonly 
called  Highland  Clothes,  that  is  to  say,  the  plaid,  philibeg  or 
little  kilt,  trowse,  shoulder  belts,  or  any  part  whatsoever  of  what 
peculiarly  belongs  to  the  Highland  Garb  ;  and  that  no  Tartan  or 
party-coloured  Plaid,  or  Stuflj  shall  be  used  for  Greatcoats  or  for 
upper  Coats."  The  penalty  was,  for  a  first  offence,  six  months' 
imprisonment;  and  seven  years'  transportation  for  a  second 
offence. 

As  no  provision  was  made  for  clothing  those  whom  the  legis- 
lature thus  stripped,  as  the  climate  is  severe  and  unfit  for  the 
cultivation  of  figs,  and  the  people  were  poor ;  and  as  loyal  districts 
wefre  included,  this  might  be  called,  "  the  Act  for  the  un-civiliza- 
tion  of  the  Highlands,  and  the  profit  of  doth  workers." 


480  wots. 


Nora  2. 

March  1,  1862. 

A  collection  of  Gaelic  poetry  was  made  some  years  ago  in 
Skye  for  Mrs.  Ferguson,  sister  of  MacLeod  of  MacLeod.  There 
are  795  lines  of  the  usual  traditional  poetry,  with  stanzas  and 
lines  which  I  had  not  previously  got,  and  with  many  variations. 
The  collection  comprises — 

1.  Laoidh  Cbuinn,  lines        128 

2.  „  Dhiarmaid,              „  84 

3.  „  na  Inghean,             „  65 

4.  „  an  Amadain  Mhòr,  „  222 

5.  „  an  Dearg,                „  116 

6.  „  Phadric  na  Salm,    „  180 

795 
Several  Ossianic  pieces  were  printed  in  a  book  published  1814 
at  Edinburgh,  "  Thoughts  on  the  Origin  and  Descent  of  the 
Gael,  etc.  etc1*    By  James  Grant,  advocate.    These  include  ver- 
sions of— 

1.  Bas  Dhiarmaid. 

2.  Address  to  the  Sun. 

3.  Ditto. 

4.  Comhrag  Fhinn  agus  Ghairbh  Mac  Starnn. 

5.  Cuchullin  in  his  Car,  and  some  fragments. 

Those  which  were  orally  collected  for  the  author  in  Boss  and 
Skye  are  of  the  usual  traditional  character,  but  he  condemns  the 
first  as  wanting  in  poetical  merit.  He  was  a  firm  believer  in  the 
published  Ossian,  and  the  book  is  worthy  of  attention. 


>*V 


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