AN GAODHAL.
703
perhaps then n of naoi n-oird, had some¬
thing to do with the N of niNe, and that
the m of seacht m-bliadhna, and the n the
deich n-daoine, might be connected with
the finals of seven and ten. This sus¬
picion would gain an element of probability when
we learn from philology that in the primitive Aryan
these numbers had a nasal, and therefore in prim¬
itive Irish, which nasal is still retained in Latin, sep¬
tem, novem, decem, German, sieben, neun, zehn,
etc, etc. Hence we are not surprised to find that
deich has comef rom decen as the French
sept has come from the Latin Septem,
and when we say deich n-oird we bring
back the original which was lost
thousands of years ago: By itself, the stem of the
word was unable to suggest the last syllable; but
on the approach of the noun the n
sounds forth its Harp-of-Tara like protest to show
that still it lives.
Such might be our surmises, let us examine the
other rules and see how far they are borne out.
Turn back a page to Rule IV. "The
prepositions a or i in : iar after and
ria before ..... causes eclipsis." For
the first preposition there can be no difficulty, it is
manifestly for in or an and therefore i
n-Eirinn is for in Eirinn in Erinn for the
other two we have to consult the an¬
cient language, and there we find both
of the ending in n. * The Same
search gives us, arn, barn or farn, an
for ar, bhur, a, and thus the first Rule p.
92, bears us out too, for the ancient
barn én becomes modern bhur n-eun.
Three of the six rules of eclipses support our the¬
ory, and we go more confidently to attack R. II.
"Eclipses takes place in the genitive plural of
nouns when the article is expressed." Before ques¬
tioning the ancient tongue to tell us
the secrets of na m-bad, na n-geall, etc.
we will see if some other of the seven sisters cannot
suggest us the key. Anyone who has only looked
into a Latin or Greek grammar will have seen at
once that the genitive plural of all the decensions
ends in a nasal m Latin, n in Greek. Anyone who
has heard the priest say at mass, per omnia sӕcula
sæculorum has an example of this for the last word
is the genitive plural of the second last. Hence
we would not be surprised to find in Irish the same
termination to the genitive plural, and so we do.
The modern fear of men, is represent¬
ed in O. Irish by feran and as the art¬
icle is declined too, we are not taken
much aback when we find it as innan.
(To be continued)
* Windisch, §99. (6), (McSweeneys Translation)
Capt. Egan, of San Francisco, has
sent $5 towards buying Gaelic type.
Brooklyn April 15, 1887.
To the Editor of the GAEL,
Dear Sir — The N. Y. Sun, April 11th says:
"The report from Europe are that immigration to
this country, which had fallen off greatly in 1885
and 1886, is very likely to rise during the present
year, to very large proportions."
Even now, emigrants are arriving in thousands
almost daily; but they come without their pastors,
and in their struggle for a living in this country, I
am not surprised to know that nearly half the
children of the poor catholic emigrants lose the
faith of their parents, on account of the want of a
clergyman who could speak their various languages
and attend to their spiritual welfare. You are al¬
ready aware of the great inconvenience the French,
Spanish, Italian, and Irish speaking people have to
endure, when they wish to have their confessions
heard in their own familiar language. Instead of
building German, French, Italian, Polish, Bohe¬
mian and other churches for foreigners, why not
have services in all Catholic Churches where such
services are needed, for the benefit of all foreigners,
and where they can hear the Gospel preached to
them in their own tongue ?
The great John MacHale says:
"On Tiber's banks no tongue is strange,
Rome's faith and tongue embrace earth's range,"
Why is it that nearly all our churches and school
are built for the English speaking portion of the
people ? With the exception of the great Dr. Eng¬
land, Bishop of Charleston, and Frederic Reze, Bis¬
hop of Detroit, and Andrew Byrne, Bishop of Lit¬
tle Rock, the Catholic hierarchy of the United
States have made but litte provision for the vast
emigration to this country. Many Catholics will
recollect the great benefits the visit of Mgr. De For¬
bine Janson, Bishop of Nancy, conferred on the
French Catholics of this country. Father Reze a¬
roused the attention of the hierarchy to the wants
of the German immigrants in America ; and Bishop
England, besides speaking and lecturing to the
French Catholics, in their own language, was a
member of the Hibernian Society of Charleston, and
used to converse with the members, occasionally,
in the Irish language.
Great praise is due to Bishop Becker of Savannah
who, though born in Germany, has learned the I¬
rish language: also to Bishop Ireland who was
mainly instrumental in establishing the "Mission
of the Rosary," at the first landing in New York
City, under the care of the benevolent and patriot¬
ic Father Riordan, who intends to build a church
in his parish, whose spire will gladden the hearts
of the emigrants coming up the bay.
It is not long since Father Bohier accidently
came across a Bohemian settlement comprising
about fifty families on Long Island and though
they were all Catholics, they attended no church on
account of their ignorance of the English language ;
but they were regularly visited by Bohemian Pro¬
testant ministers, who spoke to the children in the
Bohemian language. These facts were made
known to Bishop Loughlin, and Father Bobier,
though unable to speak the Bohemian language,
was authorized to collect funds for the building of
a church on the settament. But for the accident
of Father Bohier's visit, it is plain that in a few
years, but few of the two hundred children on the
settlement would belong to the Catholic Church.
There is a great leak in the church for the want
