383
AN GAODHAL.
Mar casadh me chuadal h fann.
Chuaidh me air fhasgadh na g-cruach,
Mar bhí mo ghualacha lom,
Ach níor tharaing me soipín de 'n fheur —
Níor bh' ionann 's cuid osgain TOM. i
Mar b'é go rabh Betti a m'aghaidh-se,
Thiocfainn go h-eug le TOM;
'S na creidóchadh aonduine faoi' n gréin,
Nach bh-fuil sé 'na Gaodhal 's 'na Gall:
Fhaid agus bheidheas tú 'na feabhair,
Deunfaidh sí plae 'gus greann —
Och! nach mese tá 'n ndeire 'na peaca,
A casadh me 'r eiligheann TOM!" j
a lig sé liom fhéin a loim' — lig sé air
liom fhéin a loime: lit. he let on to my
self his bareness. He complained of
his ill-treatment.
b da ligfeadh, &c lit. if it was left to
myself my head — was I let at liberty.
c giobach, from giobhóg, a rag — ragged,
not bare, unshorn. This line refers to
a custom in the locality :— as a protec¬
tion against the severity of Winter, at
the November shearing, part of the
back and sides and the flanks were ge¬
nerally left unshorn
d TOM, a neighboring Protestant
farmer whose pasturage was rich and
inviling to the poet's half-starved pet,
but whose wife, Betty, was noted for
her lack of hospitality towards such
visitors.
dd Ghaodhal, a Catholic.
e fain', contraction of fainean, a bit¬
ter kind of grass.
f an tobair 'sair Bhrighidh — chum an to¬
bair annsair Bhrighid : to the well to
Bridget (Mrs. Walsh) (In regard to
annsair, my friend, Mr. P H O'Donn¬
ell, late of Mt, Mellory, Co. Water¬
ford but now of Hazelton, Pa., a good
Irish scholor, says that in his opinion
annsair is a compound of the simple
prepositions, ann and air, and has its
English equivalent in "into" or "unto",
a simple, reasonable and apparently
correct solution of the problem."
g Mac Glinn, a neighboring farmer
who hated the muiltín cordially. The
mischievous and predatory wether ne¬
ver missed any opportunity, that offer¬
ed, of preying on McGlin's substance,
or on any body else's, for that matter.
His thievish propensities, left him, like
Cain, "a fugitive and a vagabond,”
McGlinn was his most deadly enemy
h cuadal, I do not know the meaning
of this word; its spelling is merely
phonetical.
i níor bh' ionan &c. not the same as
Tom's ewes; they would not be equal¬
ly virtuous, had they been similarly
situated.
j Och! nach mese tá &c. Oh! Is it not
I who am at the last gasp since I met
with Tom's clutch !
HARLEM, an 20mhadh LA de IÚIL, '84.
Chum Clódhathóir an Ghaodhail.
A Shaoi. — Chídhim dha leitir anns an Gao¬
dhal do thainic chugam an mhí so, iad ar¬
aon sgríobhtha le "Déiseach," mar ta a
ainm leo. Is maith na leitreacha iad, ta
siad curtha le chéile go deas. ach;
Mo chreach 's mo chás,
An la 'nar fhag se a phort
Ann taobh eile do 'n t-saile,
Sul dhin sé an Ghaedhilge lot.
"Ta le seal ann Saghsana Nuadh,', deir
Déiseach; cia chlos riamh éin-neach aig
radha, ta sé ann Saghsana Nuadh, ta sé
ann America? Ar chluin tusa é, a
Dhéisaigh? What is a while there New
England (America). Cuir Gaedhilig air
na focaile so dham, — Is your brother
in Dublin, in Cork, or in Newfound¬
land? A Shaoi, deunann "Déiseach ús¬
aid mhór de'n fhocal "cun," Ní fhaca-sa
riamh an reimhbheurla sin ann aon leabh¬
ar no paipeur. Cia b-fhuair sé é a dóigh
leat? Ta fhios agam-sa.
Anns an trí-mhadh bh-féarrsa de freag¬
ra Éamon Gearra, deir sé, "bioch eag¬
la ort agus sgamhra," a n-ionad, bidh¬
eadh eagla ort agus sgannra; agus deir
"Déiseach" airís anns an dara líne de
cheathramhadh bh-féarsa, "le asnamh ear¬
achas air a slainte," budh cheart airea¬
chas a bheith a n-ionad "earachas.'.
Anns an cheud líne de 'n chúigmhadh bh-
fhéarrsa, deir sé, "Raighach fuacht an
