AN GAODHAL.
305
scendants and representatives of those who first of
the Aryans wandered westward from the far off
cradle-land of the race, and a peculiar interest
must be attached to mother-tongues so venerable.
As to the literatures of those tongues, they are far
more extensive and of much greater importance
than English students are generally aware: The
literature of Wales, as the Rev. Mr. Campbell
pointed out, has been no slight aid in filling up the
gaps in the early records of our Motherland. In
Ireland the day has passed when the language of
the country was treated with disdain. Celtic
scholars in Ireland are now thought worthy of the
praise which is their due and their labor meet
with appreciation from the most cultured in the
land Of the treasures of Galeic literature it is e¬
nough to say that never before was so much en¬
lightened attention paid to them. In France, too
scholars of renown have gladly given studious days
and nights to the illustration of the Armorican
tongue and the Cognate dialects. Manx is dying
out, and Cornish has ceased to be spoken for over
a century, but the study of those languages is still
kept up by devoted students. Altogether there is
no lack of well-guided enthusiasm among those
who proudly aim at giving the Celtic languages
their rightful rank in the great family of Aryan
speech, and in every part of the world, at home or
abroad, where there are students of any of its
branches, they will hear with pleasure and sympa¬
thy of what has been done in Montreal in further¬
ance of so good an end. For our own part we have
no doubt that a society so happy inaugurated will
be the means of rendering real service to an im¬
portant department of philologic research and of
stimulating all those who speak and love the an¬
cient tongue of Western Europe to cherish and
develop an inheritance which may be made so
abundantly fruitful.
GAELIC, ERSE, MANX, AND CYMRI.
LAUNCHING THE "CELTIC SOCIETY OF MONTREAL" —
THE TONGUE OF THE BENS HEARD IN DAVID MOR¬
RICE HALL — THE BARD SETS A POETIC SEAL UPON
THE WORK — THE ANGLO SAXON RACE A FICTION.
If the meeting at the Presbyterian College last
night was not large, at least it may be said that
every one there was profoundly interested in the
subject announced for discussion.
Principal Mac Vicar, on taking the chair, remark¬
ed that several of them had been for some time
considering the practicability of forming an Os¬
sianic Society. He would suggest that it be thor¬
oughly catholic, and open to all interested in Cel¬
tic literature. They should seek to form connec¬
tions with Celtic scholars both here and in the old
land.
Prof. Campbell supported the proposal, not only
from patriotic motives, but from a sense of the val¬
ue of all knowledge which enlarges the mind by
bringing us into relation with great minds of the
past. He said it was a shame that there should be
a hundred Sanscrit scholars to one Celtic, though
the latter was of even greater value in some re¬
spects. Next to Manx, Gaelic was poorest in liter¬
ture, though it had the grandest poetry in that of
Ossian. Treasures of Irish literature were un¬
earthed from time to time, but much still had to
be published. Every Scotchman should be Irish
so far as that matter was concerned, for they were
one people not so very long ago. The Welsh po¬
etry rose to greater heights than the Irish; and
English history had to be educated by studies in
ancient Welsh documents. The Anglo Saxon race,
the speaker contended, was
NOTHING BUT A NAME.
A few thousands of Angles and Saxons came over
to Britain; they were strong men, and taking ad¬
vantage of the dissensions of the natives they gain¬
ed the upper hand. But they were absorbed into
the great Celtic mass of the population. It was
not Anglo-Saxon might but Celtic that made Eng¬
land what she was, though on different occasions
there were infusions of Anglo-Saxon and Danish
vigor. In conclusion he moved "That this meeting
constitute itself into the Celtic Society of Montreal."
This was seconded by Mr. John Lewis, and carried
unanimously.
The Rev. Dr. MacNish, introduced by the chair¬
man as a man of rare knowledge in Greek and Ro¬
man as well as Celtic literature, remarked that no
one in Canada was a better authority on philology
than Prof. Campbell. Dr MacNish then went on
to speak in Gaelic, his remarks being highly ap¬
preciated by those present and and they seemed to be
in the majority — who understood him. The others
had to content themselves with admiration for the
rugged power of the unknown tongue. The speak¬
er then asked why, when the French and Saxon
were proud to hold the traditions and languages of
their ancestors, should not the Celts do likewise.
In this connection he referred to the extraordinary
zeal of the Welsh of our own day in keeping up
their language. They hold their "Eisteddfods",
at which original Welsh compositions compete for
prizes. The Irish have succeeded in obtaining
recognition for their old tongue in schools where
it is given as an equivalent for French or German.
A society has been organized in Dublin for the
preservation and cultivation of the Irish language,
and a periodical, in both languages, has been is¬
sued by the society for a year past. The Manx
tongue is dying out, but in 1858 a society was form¬
ed for the "publication of national documents,"
and twenty eight volumes have been issued, in¬
cluding nearly all that is worth publication. As
to the Gaelic, they had the great satisfaction of
knowing that a chair had been established in Edin¬
burgh University, thanks to Prof. Blackie.
Throughout the straths and glens societies had
