﻿424
AN GAOḊAL.
Dr. MacNISH'S ADDRESS.
(Concluded
Let every Scottish Gael persist in believing on
the strongest evidence, that Ossian was a Scottish
and not an Irish Celt, — that his poems date from
an unknown past, — that neither did Macpherson
forge them nor did Ireland give them birth, — and
that the venerable bard of Selma is richly entitled
to warm commendations in consequence of his lofty
moral teaching, and of the absence from his poems
of every semblance of impurity, as well as owing to
the magnanimous spirit that animated his heroes
in peace and war :
"Lean gu dluth ri cliu do shinnsearan,
'S na diobair a bhi mar bha iadsan."
The Abbe Cesarotti of the University of Padua,
who took particular pains to study Ossian and to
bring his many beauties before the literary world,
says among other things, "The works of the Celtic
Homer, Ossian, do exist; doubts may be enter¬
tained whether Fingal was his father, but no one
will say that he was not the son of Apollo." Mat¬
thew Arnold thus writes: "Woody Morven, and
echoing Sora, and Selma with its silent halls, we
all owe them a debt of gratitude, and when we are
unjust enough to forget it, may the Muse forget
us." Dr. Clerk, in the Dissertation which is pre¬
fixed to his excellent edition of Ossian, utters a sen¬
timent in which all the members of this Society
will cheerfully acquiesce : "I hope that the time
is not distant when the Scotch and Irish Gael will
rejoice in all old Celtic literary treasures as com¬
mon family property. Nay, the time should be at
hand when every inhabitant of Britain will acknowl¬
edge the ancient productions of the Celtic muse as
part of the national stock."
Dr. Smith's Sean Dana, MacCallum's Ossian,
and Campbell's Leabhar na Feinne contain a large
quantity of poetry that belongs to the Ossianic era.
Since the Reformation there has appeared a large
number of talented poets and poetesses in the
Highlands of Scotland. In Mackenzie's Sar Obair
nam Bard Gaidhealach, there is a fair representa¬
tion of the poetry of the principal bards of the last
three centuries, — of Mary McLeod and Ewen Mac¬
Lachlan, of Alexander MacDonald and Duncan
Ban MacIntyre, the talented author of Coire Cheat¬
haicb and Ben Dorain. In our day, we have the
poetess Mrs. Mary MacKellar, who can tune the
Gaelic lyre with wonderful sweetness, and whose
anapestic metres are worthy of all praise: We
have Neil MacLeod, John Campbell, Evan Mac¬
Coll, and the bard of our own Society. In his
Clarsach an Doire, which was published a few
months ago, Neil McLeod has a beautiful poem
entitied: Am Faigh a' Ghaidhlig Bas.
"Duisg suas, a Ghaidhlig's tog do ghuth,
Na biod ort geilt no sgaig:
Tha ciadan mile dileas duit
Nach diobair thu's a' bhlar;
Cho fad's a shiubhlas uillt le sruth,
'S a bhuaileas tuinn air traigh,
Cha'n aontaich iad an cainnt no'n cruth,
Gu'n teid do chur gu bas."
"Wake up! O, Gaelic, raise thy voice,
Put doubts and fears away,
Ten thousand stalwart friends are thine
To shield thee in the fray.
While glides with murmur sweet the brook,
While beats on shore the wave;
They'll not consent by word or look
To lay thee in the grave."
Nor are the laborers in the field of Gaelic prose
by any means idle. The hundred anniversary of
the birth of Dr. Norman MacLeod, who has come
to be known as Caraid nan Gaidheal, and whose
Gaelic prose is the best in the language, was cele¬
brated in the city of Glasgow a few weeks ago.
His confidence in the perpetuation of Gaelic in
Canada was so strong, that in the dedication of
Leabhar nan Cnoc, which was published in 1834,
he thus wrote : "Na creidibh iadsan tha'g radh gu
bheil a' Ghaelig air leabaidh a bais; tha i co slan,
laidir, urail, agus a cuisle co fallain 's a bha i riamh
agus ged thachradh gun biodh i air a fogradh a h¬
Albainn am maireach, tha farsuingeachd agus fas¬
gadh a' 'feitheamh oirre taobh thall do'n chuan
mhor, far am bheil cheana na miltean d’ a muirich¬
inn fein a dh' fhailticheadh agus a dh' altrumaich¬
eadh i le solas." Scottish Gaelic has many able
friends who are expending diligent scholarship in
the investigation and cultivation of it; such are
Dr. MacLachlin, Dr. Clerk, Cameron Masson,
Nicholson, Skene, Ross, and many more. To the
delight of versatile and energetic Professor Black¬
ie, a Celtic chair has been established in the Uni¬
versity of Edinburgh, and Professor Mackinnon
has undertaken the duties of the chair with great
courage and devotion.
To such an undue length have my remarks al¬
ready extended, that I must bring my hasty review
of Celtic literature as speedily as possible to a
close. I must, however, make a brief allusion to
Manx, which is the sister of Irish and Scottish
Gaelic, and which is worthy of much attention, if
for no other reason than this, — that it has lived
over many generations and vicissitudes of political
fortune. Owing to its geographical position, which
finds fitting expression in its armorial bearing with
the motto Quocunque jeceris Stabo, the Isle of Man
was very much affected by the continual invasions
and depredations which were common before and
after the tenth century. Among the many expla¬
tions that have been given of the word "Man," the
interpretation is worthy of notice which bestows
on Manannan Mac Leir the honor of giving its
name to the Isle of Man. A Manx Ballad contains
this allusion to the power which Manannan was
