AN GAOḊAL.
351
however it does not govern the geni¬
tive; it merely aspirates the initial of
the governed word. Neither does it
govern words in what is called in En¬
glish the Neuter gender.
I was at first puzzled in thinking
that ansair governed nouns in both
genders, as, for instance, ansair Ṗad¬
ruic, ansair Ṁáire — Lit. "to him" Pa¬
trick — “to him” Mary. I now think
however that the latter should be writ¬
ten, ansoir' Ṁáire — the elipsis of the
last syllable of ansoiṫi causing the (al¬
most) similarity in the pronunciaton of
both words.
O'Donovan aad Joyce, both, ignore the
word in all its forms: nor have l ever
seen it in print, yet I do not want to
discard a friend of thirty years' stand¬
ing until assured of its incorrectness.
f a h-oileaṁuin — the mode of expres¬
sion I use in speaking; í oileaṁuin
may be more grammatical.
j d' ionnsuiġ baoġal agus ḃás — a fi¬
gurative expression whose meaning is
obvious to any student of Irish histo¬
ry.
l Ṫar an ċeasaiḋe, lit. beyond the
path: beyond the bounds (of propriety)
A. P. McṀ.
[We hope that some of our readers who can en¬
lighten Mr. Ward on this head will do so. E. G.]
Moberly, Mo., Apr. 21, 1884.
M. J. Logan,
Editor An Gaodhal :
Dear Sir : It is time that I should write you
again, and congratulate you on the progress of the
grand movement which you have so ably and hero¬
ically inaugurated for the preservation, perpetua¬
tion and advancement of the grand old Irish lan¬
guage, through the medium of the Gael. Long
may it live and prosper is my ardent and sincere
wish for the superb little gem, the Gael.
O, friends of mine on whom the nine bestowed
their magic powers,
Who culled the sweets the gifted meet in learn¬
ings fairy bowers,
Come lend your aid, with me to braid, of poesy's
bright flowers,
A garland to commemorate the advent of the Gael.
My Dear Sir, you would hear from me more fre¬
quently but, my business is such, that I am away
from my home a great portion of the time.
I just returned home a few days ago, after seven
or eight month's absence in the states of Arkansas
and Texas, consequently, I did not receive the Gael
until I came home, when my little boy brought me
all the numbers ; you can better imagine than I
can describe, the pleasure and satisfaction it gave
me in perusing its columns and spicy letters of
your correspondents, and am glad to see that so
many students of the Gaelic language acted on the
advice of Patrick.
Now, Sir I was quite young when I left Ireland
and consequently, did not know anything abou
the Irish language ; the teacher did not give us
any instructions in the language. I have never
seen an Irish book — or never saw the language set
in Gaelic type. I heard it spoken amongst my
countrymen but did not understand it, consequent¬
ly I was entirely ignorant of the language until you
sent me the Gael. Now, thanks to you and the
Gael I can speak it tolerably well but cannot write
it yet.
If my business would permit me to remain at
home and give my attention to studying the Gael
thoroughly, I flatter myself in saying that I would
be able to read and write it pretty well by this time.
My little boy is picking it up rapidly and now
thoroughly understands the alphabet and can spell
tolerably well from studying the Gael.
I send you another year's subscription to the
Gael, hoping to see its circulation quadruple in
the next year. I remain with many well wishes
for the welfare and prosyerity of the Gael,
Yours very truly
Wm. O'Leary.
A Ṡaoi Dílis; Buḋ ṁaiṫ liom an lei¬
tir seo a sgríoḃ ċugat ins a teanga
Ġaeḋilge aċ do bhí eagla orm naċh m-
beiḋeaḋ sé ceart, agus go meiḋeaḋ na
sgoláiriḋe fóġluimte magaḋ fúm air
mo ḋroċ ġraiméire. Aċ ma ċuirfiḋ tú
an leitir seo ins an teanga Ġaeḋilge
dom taḃairfiḋ mé mo ḃuiḋeaċas duit.
Do Ċaraid, Uiliam O'Laoġaire.
(Sgríoḃann tú go maiṫ, a Uiliam, — ní'l
áḋḃar náire air biṫ agad. — Foilseoir]
Whenever the British lion in his freebooting ex¬
pedition in the Soudan gained an apparent victory
over the native "Rebels”, his Jackalls of the Amer¬
ican (more properly, anti-American) press, announ¬
ced “The Great Victory”, in double headed capit¬
als. But when he has left in ignominious disgrace
they merely intimate the fact in small Brilliant —
the smallest type made !
Tá cúis na Gaeḋilge dul air aġaiḋ,
scap an Gaoḋal soir a's siar.
