100
AN GAODHAL.
warm supporter of the GAEL.
We regret that the space at our disposal is
limited otherwise we should give these sentiments
at greater length, As it is it shows a wide-
spread interest in the preservation of the Irish
language which cannot fail to be of interest to
its admirers. Any one having a knowledge of
the publication business will at once admit that
there is no money in a monthly journal sold at
five cents a copy. The GAEL was founded not
as a money speculation but to promote an idea
which every Irishman should hold dear — the ev-
idence of his individuality as an independent
member of a distinct race. That the GAEL is a
success is plain to those who have seen the im-
provements which distinguish the later from the
initial copies — it being now double the size of
what it had been. We now appeal to the Clergy
to exert themselves in its behalf. They know
the sentiments of their parishioners and, there-
fore, would have no difficulty in forming an o-
pinion as to those who would be likely to be-
come its patrons. We appeal also to the various
patriotic societies through the country to lend a
helping hand. Those who are too old to learn the
language will assist by urging the young to pa-
tronize it. We met an old man a few days ago
who said he “would give the full of his hat of
money if he thought he could learn it.” Keep it
then, before the youth. Let every subscriber act
as a committee of one among his friends to for-
ward it. And let those who receive compliment-
ary copies give them to their neighbors when they
read them. On a full analysis of the question, it
will be found that the language movement is the
most patriotic ever founded; the root of nationality.
GAELIC LITERATURE IN CHICAGO
From the Citizen.
Chicago possesses more rare and valuable Irish
books in its public library than any other city
on the American continent; and Irishmen of a
patriotic and literary turn have a better oppor-
tunity for studying not only the history, but
the language and literature, of their country
in Chicago than they could possibly have any -
where else in the world outside of Ireland. The
managers of the Public Library have deserved
the warmest thanks of the Irish residents of
Chicago on account of the magnificent collect-
tion of books bearing on Irish matters which
they have collected. These books are very ex¬
pensive, — so much so that very few institutions
would have had the courage and enterprise to have
purchased so costly a collection; but the Chi-
cago Library may rest satisfied that its liberality
in purchasing such expensive books will prove
a good investment, even in a business point of
view; for the demand for the class of books it
has obtained has been so great that the price of
most of them has doubled within the last ten
years. This is an assertion which the writer
can prove by facts and figures. The photo-
graphed facsimiles of the “Book of Leinster'
the “Book of the Dun Cow,"” and the “Speckled
Book” have been about eight years published
and they are worth to-day about two and a
half times the amount at which they were
sold when published; not only that, but the whole
issue has been sold, and the copy of the “Book
of Leinster” lately purchased by the Chicago
Library is the last that the original publishers had
for sale.
As the three books mentioned are by far the
most ancient, curious, and rare in the magnifi-
cent collection of Gaelic books in the Public
Library here, a short description of them can
hardly fail to be of great interest to many of
the readers of the CITIZEN.
These books were first carefully copied word
or word by the late Mr O'Longan — one of
the most skillful scribes that ever lived, prob-
ably; they were then photographed. The utmost
care was exercised in copying the books, the
great object being to reproduce them exactly
ás they were when frst written. To give an
idea of the immensity of the labor which it
took to copy the three books of which we have
spoken it is only necessary to say that it took
Mr. O'Longan ten years to perform the task.
There was probably not another man in the
world that could have performed it save Mr.
O'Longan; for not only was it necessary to
have an almost inexhaustable amount of pa-
tience and skill with the pen, but a perfect
knowledge of the language was also requisite.
O'Longan possessed all tese requisites to an
extraordinary degree. The writer has frequent-
ly seen him at his slow and seemingly endless
task; and has seen him copying pages of man-
uscript on which an inexperienced eye could
hardly see a letter, so blackened and defaced
were they by the wear of nearly a thou-
sand years.
Of the three ancient Gaelic books in library
the “Book of Dun Cow” (Leabhur na h-Uidhre
is the most ancient. It was so called from a
belief that the orignal book of the name was
written on vellum that was manufactured from
the hide of a dun cow posessed by St. Kieran.
The book at present in the library was compil-
ed from older manuscripts at Clonmacnois by
a layman about the year 1050. It is by no means
the oldest book in the Irish language, but is
one of the most important, in spite of the la-
mentable fact that it is only a fragment, more
than half of it having been lost, and consequent-
ly some of the most important and interesting
tracts in it are imperfect.
The next most important of the three books
under notice is the celebrated “Book of Lein-
