Chapter II: SCOTTISH GAELIC LITERATURE.--It is not until after the Forty-five

that we find any great manifestation of originality in the literature of the Scottish Highlands. The reasons for this are not far to seek. Just as the dialects of Low German in the middle ages were overshadowed by the more brilliant literary dialect of the south, so Scotch Gaelic was from the outset seriously handicapped by the great activity of the professional literary class in Ireland. We may say that down to the beginning of the 18th century the literary language of the Highlands was the Gaelic of Ireland. During the dark days of the penal laws and with the extinction of the men of letters and their patrons in Ireland, an opportunity was given to the native Scottish muse to develop her powers. Another potent factor also made itself felt. After Culloden the causes of the clan feuds and animosities of the past were removed. The Highlands, perhaps for the first time in history, formed a compact whole and settled down to peace and quietude. A remarkable outburst of literary activity ensued, and the latter half of the 18th century is the period which Scottish writers love to call the golden age of Gaelic poetry. But before we attempt to deal with this period in detail, we must examine the scanty literary products of Gaelic Scotland prior to the 18th century.

"Book of Deer."

The earliest document containing Gaelic matter which Scotland can claim is the _Book of Deer_, now preserved in the Cambridge University Library. This MS. contains portions of the Gospels in Latin written in an Irish hand with illuminations of the well-known Irish type. At the end there occurs a colophon in Irish which is certainly as old as the 9th century. Inserted in the margins and blank spaces are later notes and memoranda partly in Latin, partly in Gaelic. The Gaelic entries were probably made between 1000 and 1150. They relate to grants of land and other privileges made from time to time to the monastery of Deer (Aberdeenshire). The most interesting portion deals with the legend of Deer and its traditional foundation by St Columba. The language of these entries shows a striking departure from the traditional orthography employed in contemporary Irish documents. The Advocates' Library in Edinburgh contains a number of MSS. probably written in Scotland between 1400 and 1600, but with one exception the language is Irish.

"Book of the Dean of Lismore."

The solitary exception just mentioned is the famous codex known as the _Book of the Dean of Lismore_. The pieces contained in this volume are written in the crabbed current Roman hand of the period, and the orthography is phonetic, both of which facts render the deciphering of this valuable MS. a task of supreme difficulty. The contents of this quarto volume of 311 pages are almost entirely verse compositions collected and written down by Sir James Macgregor, dean of Lismore in Argyllshire, and his brother Duncan, between the years 1512 and 1526. A disproportionate amount of space is allotted to the compositions of well-known Irish bards such as Donnchadh Mor O'Daly (d. 1244), Muiredhach Albanach (c. 1224), Tadhg Og O'Higgin (d. 1448), Diarmaid O'Hiffernan, Torna O'Mulconry (d. 1468). But native bards are also represented. We can mention Allan Mac Rorie, Gillie Calum Mac an Ollav, John of Knoydart, who celebrates the murder of the young lord of the isles by his Irish harper in 1490, Finlay MacNab, and Duncan Macgregor, the transcriber of the greater part of the volume. The poems of the last-mentioned writer are in praise of the Macgregors. A few other poems are by Scottish authors such as Campbell, Knight of Glenorchy (d. 1513), the earl of Argyll and Countess Isabella. A number consist of satires on women. These Scottish writers are still under the influence of Irish metric, and regularly employ the four-lined stanza. They do not appear to adhere to the stricter Irish measures, but delight rather in the freer forms going by the name of _oglachas_. The Irish rules for alliteration and rhyme are not rigidly observed.

The linguistic peculiarities of the Dean's Book await investigation, but among the pieces which represent the Scottish vernacular of the day are the _Ossianic Ballads_. These, twenty-eight in number, extend to upwards of 2500 lines, and form by far the most important part of the collection. Thus the Dean's Book was compiled a full hundred years before the earliest similar collection of heroic ballads was made in Ireland. In Scotland the term Ossianic is used loosely of both the Ulster and the Fenian cycles, and it may be as well to state that three of the pieces in the volume deal with Fraoch, Conlaoch and the Bloody Rout of Conall Cearnach. It is interesting to note that nine of the poems are directly attributed to Ossian, two to Ferghus File, one to Caoilte Mac Ronan, and one to Conall Cearnach, whilst others are ascribed to Allan MacRorie, Gillie Calum Mac an Ollav and Caoch O'Cluain, who are otherwise unknown. The Dean's Book was first transcribed by Ewen MacLachlan in 1813. Thomas MacLauchlan published the text of the Ossianic ballads with modern Gaelic and English renderings in 1862. In the same volume W.F. Skene gave a useful description of the MS. and its contents. Alexander Cameron revised the text of the portion printed by MacLauchlan, and his amended text is printed in his _Reliquiae Celticae_, vol. i. (See also L.C. Stern, _Zeitschr. f. celt. Phil._ i. 294-326.)

"Book of Fernaig."

Between the Book of the Dean and the Forty-five we find another great gap, which is only bridged over by a collection which presents many points of resemblance to Macgregor's compilation. The _Book of Fernaig_, which is also written in a kind of phonetic script, was compiled by Duncan Macrae of Inverinate between 1688 and 1693. The MS. contains about 4200 lines of verse of different dates and by different authors. The contents of the collection are mainly political and religious, with a few poems which are termed didactic. As in the Dean's Book love-songs and drinking-songs are conspicuously absent, whilst the religious poetry forms about one-half of the contents. In state politics the authors are Jacobite, and in church politics Episcopalian. The Ossianic literature is represented by 36 lines. There are a number of poems by 16th-century writers, among whom is Bishop Carsewell. Mackinnon has pointed out that the language of the _Book of Fernaig_ corresponds exactly to the dialect spoken in Kintail at the present day. The text of the _Book of Fernaig_ is printed in its entirety in vol. ii. of Cameron's _Reliquiae Celticae_, and many of the poems are to be found in standard orthography in G. Henderson's _Leabhar nan Gleann_. The metres employed in the poems show the influence of the English system of versification. (See Stern, _Zeitschr. f. celt. Phil._ ii. pp. 566 ff.)

"Red and Black Books of Clanranald."

Two other Highland MSS. remain to be noticed. These are the _Red_ and _Black Books of Clanranald_, which are largely taken up with the histories of the families of Macdonald and with the achievements of Montrose, written in the ordinary Irish of the period by the Macvurichs, hereditary bards to the Clanranald chiefs. The _Red Book_ was obtained by Macpherson in 1760 from Neil Macvurich, nephew of the last great bard, and it figured largely in the Ossianic controversy. In addition to poems in Irish by Neil Macvurich, who died at a great age some time after 1715, and other bardic matter, the MSS. now contain only three Ossianic poems, and these are in Irish. During the Ossianic controversy the _Red Book of Clanranald_ was supposed to contain the originals of much of Macpherson's famous work; but, on the book coming into the hands of the enthusiastic Gaels of the closing years of the 18th century, and on its contents being examined and found wanting, the MS. was tampered with.

Mary Macleod.

Mackenzie's _Beauties of Gaelic Poetry_ contains poems written by a number of writers who flourished towards the end of the 17th century and at the beginning of the 18th. These are Mary Macleod, John Macdonald (Iain Lom), Archibald Macdonald, Dorothy Brown, Cicely Macdonald, Iain Dubh Iain 'Ic. Ailein (b. c. 1665), the Aosdan Matheson (one of his poems was rendered in English by Sir Walter Scott under the title of "Farewell to Mackenzie, High Chief of Kintail"), Hector Maclean (also known through a translation by Scott called "War-song of Lachlan, High Chief of Maclean"), Lachlan Mackinnon, Roderick Morrison (an Clarsair Dall), and John Mackay of Gairloch, but we can here only notice the first two. The famous Mary Macleod, better known as Mairi Nighean Alastair Ruaidh (c. 1588-1693), was family bard to Sir Norman Macleod of Bernera, and later to John "Breac" Macleod of Macleod, in honour of whom most of her poems were composed. Like very many of the Highland poets Mary had little or no education, and it would seem that none of the poems which have come down to us were composed before 1660. Her pieces are composed in the modern Irish metres with the characteristic vowel rhymes of the accented syllables. As might perhaps be expected it was only the Macvurichs (the professional bards of the Clanranald) who went on practising the classical _debide_ metre. This they still continued to do during the first quarter of the 18th century. Mary Macleod's best-known pieces comprise a dirge on the drowning of Iain Garbh (Mac'Ille Chalum) in the Minch, a song "An Talla 'm bu ghnath le MacLeoid," and an ode to Sir Norman Macleod of Bernera, produced during her exile in Mull, which begins "'S mi'm shuidhe air an tulaich." For the details of her career, which are the subject of some dispute, the reader may be referred to a paper by Alexander Mackenzie in the _Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness_, vol. xxii. pp. 43-66. Mary Macleod is accounted one of the most musical and original of the Highland bards.

"Iain Lom."

John Macdonald, better known as Iain Lom (d. c. 1710), was a vigorous political poet whose verses exercised an extraordinary influence during his lifetime. He is said to have received a yearly pension from Charles II. for his services to the Stuart cause. His best-known poems are _Mort na Ceapach_, on the murder of the heir of Keppoch, who was eventually avenged through the poet's efforts, and a piece on the battle of Inverlochay (1645). However great the inspiration of Mary Macleod and Iain Lorn, they were after all but political or family bards. In succession to them there arose a small band of men with loftier thoughts, a wider outlook and greater art. The literature of the Scottish Highlands culminates in the names of Alexander Macdonald, Duncan Ban MacIntyre and Dugald Buchanan.

Alexander Macdonald.

Alexander Macdonald, commonly called Alasdair MacMaighstir Alasdair (b. c. 1700), was the son of an Episcopalian clergyman in Moidart. He was sent to Glasgow University to fit himself for a professional career. But an imprudent marriage caused him to abandon his studies, and about 1729 he received an appointment as a Presbyterian teacher in his native district. He was moved from place to place, and from 1739 to 1745 he taught at Corryvullin on the Sound of Mull, the scene of some of his most beautiful lyrics. About 1740 he was invited to compile a Gaelic vocabulary, which was published in 1741. Macdonald has thus the double distinction of being the author of the first book printed in Scotch Gaelic and of being the father of Highland lexicography. The news of the landing of the Pretender brought visions of release to the poverty-stricken poet, who was by this time heartily sick of teaching and farming. He turned Roman Catholic, and was present at the unfurling of the Stuart standard. He was given the rank of captain, but rendered greater services to the Jacobite cause with his stirring poems than with the sword. After Culloden he suffered great privations. But in 1751 he visited Edinburgh and brought out a collection of his poetry, which has the honour of being the first original work printed in Scotch Gaelic. His volume was therefore entitled _Ais-eiridh na Seann Chanain Albannaich_ (Resurrection of the Ancient Scottish Tongue). Till the day of his death he led a more or less wandering life, as he was dependent on the generosity of Clanranald. Only a small part of Macdonald's compositions have been preserved (thirty-one in all). These naturally fall into three groups--love-songs, descriptive poems and patriotic and Jacobite poems. In his love-songs and descriptive poems Macdonald struck an entirely new note in Gaelic literature. His _Moladh Moraig_ and _Cuachag an Fhasaich_ (also called _A'Bhanarach Dhonn_) are his best-known compositions in the amatory style. But he is distinctly at his best in the descriptive poems. We have already seen that even as early as the 8th century the poets of Ireland gave expression to that intimate love of nature which is perhaps the most striking feature in Celtic verse. Macdonald had a wonderful command of his native Gaelic. His verse is always musical, and his skilful use of epithet, often very lavishly strewn, enables him to express with marvellous effect the various aspects of nature in her gentler and sterner moods alike. His masterpiece, the _Birlinn of Clanranald_, which is at the same time, apart from Ossianic ballads, the longest poem in the language, describes a voyage from South Uist to Carrickfergus. Here Macdonald excels in describing the movement of the ship and the fury of the storm. In _Allt an t-Siucair_ (The Sugar Brook) we are given an exquisite picture of a beautiful scene in the country on a summer morning. Other similar poems full of melody and colour are _Failte na Mor-thir_ (Hail to the Mainland), _Oran an t-Samhraidh_ (Ode to Summer), and _Oran an Gheamhraidh_ (Ode to Winter). When this gifted son of the muses identified himself with the Stuart cause he poured forth a stream of inspiring songs which have earned for him the title of the Tyrtaeus of the Rebellion. Among these we may mention _Oran nam Fineachan Gaelach_ (The Song of the Clans), _Brosnachadh nam Fineachan gaidhealach_ (A Call to the Highland Clans), and various songs to the prince. But incomparably the finest of all is _Oran Luaighe no Fucaidh_ (Waulking Song). Here the prince is addressed as a young girl with flowing locks of yellow hair on her shoulders, and called Morag. She had gone away over the seas, and the poet invokes her to return with a party of maidens (i.e. soldiers) to dress the red cloth, in other words, to beat the English red-coats. The song contains forty-seven stanzas in all, with the characteristic refrain of the waulking-songs. _Am Breacan Uallach_ is a spirited poem in praise of the kilt and plaid, which had been forbidden by the English government. Macdonald is also the author of a number of poems in MS. which have been called the quintessence of indecency. His works have gone through eight editions, the last of which is dated 1892.

In connexion with Macdonald's Jacobite songs it will be well to mention here the name of a kindred spirit, John Roy Stuart (Iain Ruadh Stiubhart). Stuart was a gallant soldier who was serving in Flanders with the French against the English when the rebellion broke out. He hurried home and distinguished himself on the field of battle. After Culloden he gave vent to his dejection in two pathetic songs, one on the battle itself, while the other deals with the sad lot of the Gael.

Duncan Ban.

The only poet of nature who can claim to rival Macdonald is a man of a totally different stamp. Duncan Ban Maclntyre (Donnachadh Ban, 1724-1812) was born of poor parents in Glenorchy, and never learned to read and write or to speak English. He was present on the English side at the battle of Falkirk, on which he wrote a famous ode, and shortly afterwards he was appointed gamekeeper to the earl of Breadalbane in Coire Cheathaich and Ben Dorain, where he lived for many years until he accepted a similar appointment from the duke of Argyll in Buachaill-Eite. Stewart of Luss is credited with having taken down the 6000 lines of verse of his own composition which MacIntyre had carried about with him for many years, and his works were published in 1768. In his later years he was first a volunteer and afterwards a member of the city guard in Edinburgh. In addition to his poems descriptive of nature MacIntyre composed a number of Jacobite martial songs, songs of love and sentiment, and comic and satiric pieces. The poem _Mairi bhan og_ addressed to his wife is, on account of its grace and delicate sentiment, generally held to be the finest love-song in the language. But it is above all as the poet of ben and corrie that MacIntyre is remembered. He has been called the Burns of the Highlands, but the bitterness and intellectual power of the Ayrshire poet are absent in MacIntyre. Duncan Ban describes fondly and tenderly the glories of his native mountains as only one can who spends his life in daily communion with them. His two great compositions are styled _Ben Dorain_ and _Coire Cheathaich_. The former is a long poem of 550 lines divided into eight parts, alternating with a sort of strophe and antistrophe, one slow called _urlar_ in stately trochees, the other swift called _siubhal_ in a kind of galloping anapaests; the whole ending with the _crunluath_ or final quick motion. It is said to follow very accurately the lilt of a pipe-tune. The poem, which might be called the "Song of the Deer," has been well done into English by J. S. Blackie. _Coire Cheathaich_ (The Misty Corrie), a much shorter poem than Ben Dorain, gives a loving description of all the prominent features in the landscape--the flowers, the bushes, the stones, the hillocks with the birds and game, and the whirling eddies with the glistening salmon. MacIntyre's works went through three editions in his lifetime, and a twelfth was issued in 1901.

Rob Donn.

John MacCodrum.

From Duncan Ban we pass on to consider the compositions of two men who hailed from the outlying parts of Gaeldom. Robert Mackay, or, as he is generally called, Rob Donn (1714-1778), was a native of Strathmore, Sutherlandshire, who, like Duncan Ban, never learned to read or write. His life, which was uneventful, was spent almost entirely within the confines of the county of his birth. He left behind a large number of poems which may be roughly classified as elegiac, love and satiric poems. His elegies are of the typical Highland kind. The singer is overwhelmed with sadness and despairing in his loss. His best-known composition in this style is "The Death-Song of Hugh." Having just heard of the death of Pelham, the prime minister, Mackay finds a poor friend of his dying alone amid squalor in the heart of the mountains. In a poem composed on the spot the poet contrasts the positions of the two men and reflects on the vanity of human existence. Among his love-poems the "Shieling Song" is deservedly famous. But it was above all as a satirist that Mackay excelled during his lifetime. Indeed he seems to have had the sharpest tongue of all the Highland bards. We have already seen what powers were attributed to satirical poets in Ireland in medieval times, and though bodily disfigurements were no longer feared in the 18th century, nothing was more dreaded, both in Ireland and Scotland, than the lash of the bard. Hence many of Rob Donn's compositions have lost their point, and opinions have been greatly divided as to his merits as a poet. His collected poems were first published in 1829, a second edition appeared in 1871, and in 1899 two new editions were issued simultaneously, the one by Hew Morrison, the other by Adam Gunn and Malcolm Macfarlane. Another satirical poet who enjoyed a tremendous reputation in his own day was John MacCodrum, a native of North Uist and a contemporary of the men just mentioned. It is related of MacCodrum that the tailors of the Long Island refused to make any clothes for him in consequence of a satire he had directed against them. He was encountered in a ragged state by the Macdonald, who on learning the cause of his sorry condition promoted him to the dignity of bard to his family. Consequently a number of his compositions are addressed to his patrons, but one delightful poem entitled _Smeorach Chlann-Domhnuill_ (The Mavis of Clan Donald) describes in verses full of melody the beauties of his beloved island home.

Dugald Buchanan.

In the lyrical outburst which followed the Forty-five it was only to be expected that religious poetry should be represented. We have seen that much of the space in the Dean's Book and in the _Book of Fernaig_ is allotted to verse of a pious order, though apart from the works of such Irish singers as Donnchadh O'Daly the poems do not reach a very high pitch of excellence. The first religious poem to be printed in Scotch Gaelic was a long hymn by David Mackellar, published in 1752. But incomparably the greatest writer of hymns and sacred poems is Dugald Buchanan (1716-1768). Buchanan was born in Strathyre in Perthshire and was the son of a miller. He received a desultory kind of education and tried his hand at various trades. In 1753 he was appointed schoolmaster at Drumcastle near Kinloch Rannoch. He was selected to assist Stewart of Killin in preparing the first Highland version of the New Testament for the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge (published 1767), and at the same time he issued an edition of his own poems. Of all Gaelic books this has been far and away the most popular, having gone through no less than forty editions. Buchanan seems to have been very susceptible to religious influences, and the stern Puritan doctrines of retribution and eternal damnation preached around him so worked on his mind that from his ninth to his twenty-sixth year he was a prey to that mental anguish so eloquently described by Bunyan. The awful visions which presented themselves to his vivid imagination find expression in his poems, the most notable of which are "The Majesty of God," "The Dream," "The Sufferings of Christ," "The Day of Judgment," "The Hero," "The Skull," "Winter" and "Prayer." In the "Day of Judgment," a poem of about 120 stanzas, we are given in sublime verses a vivid delineation of the crack of doom as the archangel sounds the last trumpet. The poet then goes on to depict the awful scenes consequent upon the wreck of the elements, and pictures the gathering together of the whole human race before the Throne. But Buchanan's masterpiece is admittedly "The Skull." Traces of the influence of English writers have been observed in all the poet's writings, and it seems certain that the subject of his greatest poem was suggested by Shakespeare. The poet seated by a grave espies a skull. He takes it up and muses on its history. This poem in 44 stanzas concludes with a picture of the torments of hell and the glories of heaven.

Macpherson's "Ossian."

The writers whom we have been discussing are practically unknown save to those who are able to read them in the original. Now we have to turn our attention to a man whose works have never been popular in the Highlands, but who nevertheless plays a prominent part in the history of European literature. Though the precise origin of the Fenian cycle may remain a moot-point to all time, the development of the literature centring in the names of Finn and Ossian is at any rate clear from the 11th century onwards. The interest taken in Celtic studies since the middle of the 19th century in Ireland and Scotland and elsewhere has accumulated a body of evidence which has settled for all time the celebrated dispute as to the authenticity of Macpherson's Ossian. James Macpherson (1736-1796), a native of Kingussie, showed a turn for versification whilst yet a student at college. Whilst acting as tutor at Moffat he was asked by John Home as to the existence of ancient Gaelic literature in the Highlands. After some pressing Macpherson undertook to translate some of the more striking poems, and submitted to Home a rendering of "The Death of Oscar." Blair, Ferguson and Robertson, the foremost men in the Edinburgh literary circles of the day, were enthusiastic about the unearthing of such unsuspected treasures, and at their instance Macpherson published anonymously in 1760 his _Fragments of Ancient Poetry, collected in the Highlands of Scotland and translated from the Gaelic or Erse Language_. This publication contained in all fifteen translations, preceded by a preface from the pen of Blair. Published under such auspices, Macpherson's venture was bound to succeed. In the preface it was stated that among other ancient poems an epic of considerable length existed in Gaelic, and that if sufficient encouragement were forthcoming the author of the versions would undertake to recover and translate the same. A subscription was raised at once, and Macpherson set out on a journey of exploration in the Highlands and islands. As the result of this tour, on which he was accompanied by two or three competent Gaelic scholars, Macpherson published in London in 1762 a large quarto containing his epic styled _Fingal_ with fifteen other smaller poems. In the following year a still larger epic appeared with the title of _Temora_. It was in eight books, and contained a number of notes in addition to _Cath-Loda_ and other pieces, along with the seventh book of _Temora_ in Gaelic as a specimen of the original. Ten years later a new edition of the whole was issued. The authenticity of Macpherson's translations was soon impugned by Dr Johnson, Hume and Malcolm Laing, and the author was urged by his friends to publish the originals. Macpherson prevaricated, even though the Highlanders of India sent him a cheque for L1000 to enable him to vindicate the antiquity of their native literature. Macpherson at different times, and particularly towards the end of his life, seems to have had some intention of publishing the Gaelic of his Ossian, but he was naturally deterred by the feeling that his knowledge of Gaelic was becoming shakier with his continued absence from the Highlands. At any rate he left behind a quantity of Gaelic matter in MS. which was ultimately published by the Highland Society of London in 1807. This MS., however, was revised and transcribed by Ross and afterwards destroyed, so that we are ignorant of its nature. The Highland Society also instituted an inquiry into the whole question, but their conclusions were somewhat negative. They succeeded in establishing that the characters introduced by Macpherson were familiar in the Highlands and that Ossianic ballads really existed, which Macpherson had utilized. Macpherson's claims still found ardent advocates, such as Clark, in the 'seventies, but the question was finally disposed of in papers by Alexander Macbain (1885) and L.C. Stern (1895). We can here only summarize briefly the main lines of argument. (1) Macpherson's Ossian is full of reminiscences of Homer, Milton and the Hebrew prophets. (2) He confuses the Ulster and the Fenian heroic cycles in unpardonable fashion. (3) The Gaelic text of 1807 only represents one-half of the English versions (11 poems out of 22 poems). Some Gaelic fragments from different pens appeared prior to 1807, but these differ considerably from the "official" version. (4) In the Gaelic text of 1807 the version of the passage from _Temora_ is quite different from that published in 1763. (5) Macpherson's Gaelic is full of offences against idiom and unnaturally strained language. (6) The names Morven and Selma are entirely of his own invention (see also MACPHERSON, JAMES). As a result of the stir caused by Macpherson's work a number of men set about collecting the genuine popular literature of the Highlands. A few years before the appearance of _Fingal_, Jeremy Stone, a schoolmaster at Dunkeld, had collected ten Ossianic ballads and published one of them in an English versified translation. For this collection see a paper by D. Mackinnon in the _Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness_, vol. xiv. pp. 314 ff. Unfortunately other persons were led to follow Macpherson's example. The chief of these imitators were (1) John Clark, who in 1778 published, along with several others, an English poem _Mordubh_, later translated into Gaelic by Gillies; (2) R. Macdonald, son of Alexander Macdonald, who is the author of _The Wish of the Aged Bard_; (3) John Smith of Campbeltown (d. 1807), author of fourteen Ossianic poems styled _Seandana_, published in English in 1780 and in Gaelic in 1787; (4) D. MacCallum of Arisaig, who in 1821 published _Collath_ and a complete _Mordubh_ "by an ancient bard Fonar."

Later poets.

We have now reviewed in turn the greatest writers of the Scottish Highlands. The men we have dealt with created a kind of tradition which others have attempted to carry on. Ewen Maclachlan (1775-1822), the first transcriber of the Dean's Book, was assistant librarian of King's College and rector of the grammar school of Aberdeen. Amongst other things he translated the greater part of seven books of Homer's _Iliad_ into Gaelic heroic verse, and he also had a large share in the compilation of the Gaelic-English part of the Highland Society's _Dictionary_. A number of Gaelic poems were published by him in 1816. These consist of poems of nature, e.g. _Dain nan Aimsirean, Dan mu chonaltradh, Smeorach Chloinn-Lachuinn_, and of a well-known love-song, the _Ealaidh Ghaoil_. William Ross (1762-1790), a schoolmaster at Gairloch, is the typical Highland poet of the tender passion, and he is commonly represented as having gone to an early grave in consequence of unrequited affection. His finest compositions are _Feasgar Luain_ and _Moladh na h-oighe Gaelich_. Another exquisite song _Cuachag nan Craobh_, is usually attributed to this poet, but it seems to go back to the beginning of the 18th century. A fifth edition of Ross's poems appeared in 1902. The most popular writer of sacred poems after Buchanan is undoubtedly Peter Grant, a Baptist minister in Strathspey, whose _Dain Spioradail_ (first published in 1809) reached a twentieth edition in 1904, Sweetness, grace and simplicity are the characteristics which have endeared him to the heart of the Gael. Two other well-known hymn-writers spent their lives in Nova Scotia--James Macgregor (1759-1830) and John Maclean, a native of Tiree. The compositions of the latter have been published under the title _Clarsach na Coille_ (Glasgow, 1881). But John Morrison (1790-1852), the poet-blacksmith of Rodel, Harris, is the most worthy of the name of successor to Buchanan. His works have been carefully edited in two volumes by George Henderson (2nd edition, 1896). His poems are remarkably musical and imaginative. Two of the most characteristic are _An Iondruinn_ and _Tha duin' og agus seann duin' agam_. William Livingston or MacDhunleibhe (1808-1870) was a native of Islay. He received scarcely any education, and was apprenticed as a tailor, but he early made his way to the mainland. He was ever a fierce Anglophobe, and did his best to make up for the deficiencies of his early training. He published in English a _Vindication of the Celtic Character_, and attempted to issue a _History of Scotland_ in parts. His poems, which have been at least twice published (1858, 1882), are equally powerful in the expression of ruthless fierceness and tearful sorrow. In _Fios thun a' Bhaird_ he sings pathetically of the passing of the older order in Islay, and another powerful poem entitled _Duan Geall_ deals with the campaign of the Highlanders under Sir Colin Campbell in the Crimea. Livingston's contemporary, Evan Maccoll (1808-1898), the son of a small farmer on Lochfyneside, in his early years devoured eagerly all the English literature and Gaelic lore that came in his way. In 1836 he issued a volume of songs called the _Mountain Minstrel_, containing his productions in Gaelic and English. Two years later two volumes appeared, one entirely in Gaelic, styled _Clarsach nam Beann_, the other in English under the old title. A third edition of the Gaelic collection was published in 1886. Maccoll acted for many years as clerk in the custom-house at Liverpool, and afterwards he filled a similar post at Kingston, Canada. He has been called the Moore of Highland song. His spirit is altogether modern, and his poems are much nearer the Lowland type than those of the older bards. Among his best-known pieces are _Bas Mairi_ and _Duanag Ghaoil_. We can do no more than mention the names of John Maclachlan of Rahoy (1804-1874), James Munro (1794-1870), well known as a grammarian, Dugald Macphail (b. 1818), Mrs Mary Macpherson, Angus Macdonald (1804-1874), Mrs Mary Mackellar (1834-1890) and Neil Macleod (b. 1843), author of a popular collection _Clarsach an Doire_ (1st ed., 1883; 3rd ed., 1904). Neil Macleod is also the writer of the popular song _An Gleann's an robh mi og_. Others whom we cannot mention here are known as the authors of one or more songs which have become popular. It is natural to compare the state of affairs at the beginning of the 20th century with that obtaining in 1800. In the dawn of the 19th century every district in the Highlands had its native poet, whilst a century later not a single Gaelic bard of known reputation existed anywhere within its borders. It is only too evident that the new writers prefer English to Gaelic as a medium of literature, partly because they know it better, but also because in it they appeal to a far wider public.

Prose writers.

It will have been observed that we have said nothing about prose works written in Gaelic. Original Gaelic prose is conspicuous by its absence. The first printed work is the translation of Knox's _Liturgy_ by Bishop Carsewell, published in 1567 (reprinted in 1873). Calvin's Catechism is said to have been issued in 1631. The Psalms and Shorter Catechism appeared in 1659, while two other psalters saw the light before the end of the century, one by Kirke (1684), the other issued by the Synod of Argyll (1694). The language of all these publications may, however, be termed Irish. Apart from reprints of the catechism and psalter, the only other Gaelic matter which appeared in print before 1750 were Kirke's Irish version of the Bible in Roman type with a vocabulary (1690), and the _Vocabulary_ by Alexander Macdonald (1741). But from the middle of the 18th century translations of the works of English religious writers streamed from the various presses. Alleine, Baxter, Boston, Bunyan, Doddridge and Jonathan Edwards were all prime favourites, and their works have gone through many editions. Apart from a well-meant but wholly inadequate version of Schiller's _Tell_, the only non-religious work which can be termed literature existing in a Gaelic translation is a portion of the _Arabian Nights_, though fragments of other classics such as Lamb's _Tales from Shakespeare_ have appeared in magazines. The one-sided character of Gaelic literature, in addition to exercising a baneful influence on Highland character, has in the long run of necessity proved adverse to the vitality of the language. The best standard of Gaelic is by common consent the language of the Scriptures. James Stewart of Killin's version of the New Testament, published by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, was followed by a translation of the Old Testament in four parts (1783-1801), the work of John Stewart of Luss and John Smith of Campbeltown. The whole Gaelic Bible saw the light in 1807. But the revision of 1826 is regarded as standard. The translators and revisers had no norm to follow, and it is difficult to say how far they were influenced by Irish tradition. Much in the Gaelic version seems to savour of Irish idiom, and it is a pity that some competent scholar such as Henderson has not investigated the question. Of original prose works we can mention two. The one is a _History of the Forty-five (Eachdraidh a' Phrionnsa, no Bliadhna Thearlaich_), published in 1845 by John Mackenzie, the compiler of the _Beauties of Gaelic Poetry_ (1806-1848). A second edition of this book appeared in 1906. The other is the more famous _Caraid nan Gaedheal_, by Norman Macleod (new edition, 1899). This volume consists mainly of a number of dialogues dealing with various departments of Highland life, which were originally contributed to various magazines from 1829 to 1848. Macleod's style is racy and elegant, and his work is deservedly popular.

In conclusion we must take notice of the more important collections of folklore. Gaelic, like Irish, is extraordinarily rich in proverbs. The first collection of Gaelic proverbs was published in 1785 by Donald Macintosh. This work was supplemented and enlarged in 1881 by Alexander Nicolson, whose book contains no fewer than 3900 short sayings. A large collection of Gaelic folk-tales was gleaned and published by J.F. Campbell under the title of _Popular Tales of the West Highlands_ (4 vols., Edinburgh, 1862). Alexander Carmichael published a version of the _Tain Bo Calnge_, called _Toirioc na Taine_, which he collected in South Uist (_Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness_, ii. 25-42), also the story of Deirdre and the sons of Uisneach in prose taken down in Barra (ib. xiii. 241-257). Five volumes of popular stories, collected by J.G. Campbell, D. MacInnes, J. Macdougall and Lord Archibald Campbell, have been published (1889-1895) by Nutt under the title _Waifs and Strays of Celtic Tradition_. These collections contain a good deal of matter pertaining to the old heroic cycles. Seven ballads dealing with the Ulster cycle were collected and printed by Hector Maclean under the title _Ultonian Hero-ballads_ (Glasgow, 1892). Macpherson gave a fillip to collectors of Ossianic lore, and a number of MSS. going back to his time are deposited in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh. J.F. Campbell spent twelve years searching for variants, and his results were published in his _Leabhar na Feinne_ (1872). This volume contains 54,000 lines of heroic verse. The Edinburgh MSS. were transcribed by Alexander Cameron, and published after his death by Alexander Macbain and John Kennedy in his _Reliquiae Celticae_. This work is therefore a complete corpus of Gaelic heroic verse. Finally the charms and incantations of the Highlands have been collected and published by Alexander Carmichael in two sumptuous volumes under the title _Carmina Gadelica_ (1900).

AUTHORITIES.--The standard work is Magnus Maclean, _The Literature of
the Highlands_ (London, 1904); see also various chapters in the same
writer's _Literature of the Celts_ (London, 1902); L.C. Stern, _Die
Kultur der Gegenwart_, i. xi. 1, pp. 98-109; Nigel MacNeill, _The
Literature of the Highlanders_ (Inverness, 1892); J.S. Blackie, _The
Language and Literature of the Scottish Highlands_ (Edinburgh, 1876);
P.T. Pattison, _Gaelic Bards_ (1890); L. Macbean, _Songs and Hymns of
the Scottish Highlands_ (Edinburgh, 1888); John Mackenzie, _Sarobair
nam Bard Gaelach_, or _The Beauties of Gaelic Poetry_ (new ed.,
Edinburgh, 1904); A. Sinclair, _An t-Oranaiche_ (Glasgow, 1879); _The
Book of Deer_, edited for the Spalding Club by Dr Stuart (1869);
Alexander Macbain, _Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness_,
vols. xi. and xii.; _The Book of the Dean of Lismore_, edited by T.
Maclauchlan (1862); Alexander Cameron, _Reliquiae Celticae_
(Inverness, 1892-1894); John Reid, _Bibliotheca Scoto-Celtica_
(Glasgow, 1832); _Catalogue_ of the books in the Celtic department,
Aberdeen University Library (1897); George Henderson, _Leabhar nan
Gleann_ (Inverness, 1898); D. Mackinnon, "The Fernaig MS." in
_Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness_, xi. 311-339; J.S.
Smart, _James Macpherson, An Episode in Literature_ (London, 1905);
L.C. Stern, "Die Ossianischen Heldenlieder" in _Zeitschrift fur
vergleichende Litteraturgeschichte_ (1895), translated by J.L.
Robertson in _Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness_, xxv.
257-325; G. Dottin, _Revue de synthese historique_, viii. 79-91; M.C.
Macleod, _Modern Gaelic Bards_ (Stirling, 1908). (E. C. Q.)