AN GAODHAL.
271
"A nation which allows her language to go to ruin, is
parting with the best half of her intellectual independence,
and testifies to her willingness to cease to exist." — ARCH¬
BISHOP TRENCH.
"The Green Isle contained for more centuries than one,
more learning than could have been collected from the rest
of Europe ... It is not thus rash to say that the Irish
possess contemporary histories of their country, written in
the language of the people from the fifth century. No
other nation of modern Europe is able to make a similar
boast." — SPALDING's ENGLISH LITERATURE, APPLETON & Co.,
NEW YORK.
Who are the Scotch? A tribe of Irish Scots who crossed
over in the 6th century, overcame the natives, and gave
their name to the country. — J. CORNWELL, PH.D., F. R. S.'s
Scotch History.
The Saxons led in England from the 5th century and
were so rude that they had no written language until the
14th, when the Franco-Normans formulated the English. —
SPALDING.
A monthly Journal devoted to the Cultivation
and Preservation of the Irish Language and
the autonomy of the Irish Nation.
Published at 814 Pacific st., Brooklyn, N. Y.
M. J. LOGAN, - - - Editor and Proprietor
Terms of Subscription — $1 a year to students, 60
cents to the public, in advance ; $1. in arrears.
Terms of Advertising — 20 cents a line, Agate.
Entered at the Brooklyn P. O. as 2nd-class matter
Twelfth Year of Publication.
VOL 9, No. 11. APRIL. 1893.
Remember that the First Irish Book is given free
of charge to every new subscriber.
Subscribers will please remember that subscrip¬
ions are due in advance.
THE "SCOTCH FROM MAYO"!
In the last issue of the Gael we said, "It rests with
the hierarchy at home to preserve the religion of
their people abroad, and to do this they must pre¬
serve the evidence of the antiquity and culture of
their race."
Since the above was written we have had a per¬
sonal proof of the correctness of that view.
In this city there is a large number of Scotchmen
and we have been for a long time anxious to meet
some of them who could speak Gaelic. A short time
since we were informed that a man named Wallace
residing in the 10th Ward, dozen blocks from here,
was an excellent Gaelic speaker. Having had a
business transaction some time previously with a
Scotch family of that neighborhood named Smith,
we called to Smith's house thinking we could get
Wallace's address there, the Scotch being socially
clannish.
Our conjecture was perfectly accurate for on en¬
tering Smith's house we found two lady visitors
there whom Mrs Smith introduced to us as Mrs.
Wallace and Mrs Smith (her sisterinlaw). No soon¬
er had we broached the nature of our call than we
had to assume the defensive because of the attacks
made on the "Ignorant Irish" by the Scotchwomen.
The pith of their argument was that the Irish were
too ignorant to know anything, and that whatever
smartness and intelligence some of them may have
lately exhibited were the result of the education gi¬
en them by England; in a word, that England had
rescued them from barbarism, and that they were
Catholics because they knew no better.
It was in vain that we showed them the Gael
and pointed out to them the extracts from Spalding
emphasizing the fact that Ireland was Catholic to
the core at the time that he (Spalding) declared
they possessed more learning than all the rest of
Europe put together. The women laughed and hin¬
ted that we manufactured the extracts ourselves.
Seeing that our argument had no effect on our
entertainers we were in the act of retiring when Mrs
Smith's eldest daughter, who is studying in High
School to be a teacher, entered with her bundle of
books in her satchel. And knowing that Spald¬
ing's was one of the English Literature histories u¬
sed in the public schools, we asked her if she had
read it.
"Yes," she promptly replied, producing the book.
We at once opened it at the page from which we
copied the extracts in the Gael and requested her
to read it. She did. We next asked her to compare
the extracts in the Gael with them. She did, and
pronounced them as strictly verbatim. We then
told her of our fight with her lady friends, and she
said. —
"Well, their contention is the general opinion,
and up to now it had been my own for I never
paid any attention to these passages, but surely you
have the authorities on your side."
We then showed Miss Smith the Irish composi¬
tion in the Gael and explained the outline of Irish
grammar to her, and, also, how the English did all
in their power to make the Irish ignorant so as to
have a show of excuse for keeping them in bondage.
The young lady seemed to comprehend the whole
matter, for she laughingly remarked, "I suppose it
is all politics — trying to run one another down like
the politicians here."
The women were attentive listeners to what was
said. We had our turn now; we pointed out to them
when their forefathers, a colony of Irish Scots, cros¬
sed over to Scotland, and requested of them to tell
us how a stream could rise higher than its source.
The discussion waxed warm, the women appeared
worried and in the excitement, Mrs. Wallace blur¬
ted out. —
"Arrah, what are you talking about, man? We are
all from the County Mayo; my man's father came
from Ballindine, and we are from Coilltemagh (Mrs
Wallace is Mr Smith's sister); our name was Mac
Gowan, which is the Irish for Smith. We were
born in Scotland but all our folks came from Mayo."
After this we became very friendly as we told them
that we knew several families of the Wallaces in
and about Ballindine, who were all Catholics. She
admitted that they were so but that they had no
show in Scotland, and that they allowed their chil¬
dren to go with the kirk children; and the children
as they grew up, seeing the ignorance of their par¬
ents, continued to go with the kirk children.
The women told us of three other "Scotch" fam¬
ilies from Mayo like themselves. Mrs Wallace is the
mother of thirteen children, eleven of whom are li¬
ving. They counted up the members of the six fa¬
milies and, between children and parents, they
number forty-nine.
