century. In the Highlands and Western Isles he is invariably styled _Mac
Mhaighstir Alastair_--_i.e._ the son of Mr Alexander. Alastair the Elder
resided at Dalilea in Moydart of Argyll, and was both Episcopal
clergyman and official tacksman. He was a man of immense strength and
vigour, and his muscular Christianity may be inferred from the saying
current in Moydart that “his hand was heavier on the men of Suainart
than on the men of Moydart.” Alexander Macdonald had a good education
for his time--first under his father, and later, for a year or so, at
Glasgow University. Poverty, however, compelled him to leave Glasgow and
retire to Ardnamurchan, where, as his biographer, Mr Pattison, says, he
lived, teaching and farming, and composing poetry, until the advent of
the year 1745. In this momentous year he left not only his farm and his
teaching, but even his eldership in the Established Church, and forsook
all to join Prince Charlie, and to take upon him the onus of a change to
the detested Roman Catholic faith. He was a Jacobite of the Jacobites,
and his fiery and warlike songs were repeated from mouth to mouth
throughout Celtic Scotland. It is supposed that he had a commission in
the Highland army of the Prince, though whether he served as an officer
is uncertain; at any rate, after the battle of Culloden he had to share
the privations of his leaders, and he lived in hiding in the woods and
caves of the district of Arisaig. On one occasion, when lurking among
these caves with his brother Angus, the cold was so intense that the
side of Macdonald’s head which rested on the ground became quite grey in
a single night. When the troubles were over he went to Edinburgh, where
he taught the children of a staunch Jacobite, but soon returned to his
beloved West, where he remained till his death. Macdonald’s first
published book was a _Gaelic and English Vocabulary_ (1741), nor was it
till ten years later that his poems were published in Edinburgh--said to
be one of the earliest volumes of original poems ever published in
Gaelic. Pattison declares that he is the most warlike, and much the
fiercest of the Highland poets; and altogether ranks him as, if not the
foremost, certainly second only to the famous Duncan Bàn MacIntyre. His
poem called “The Birlinn of the Clan-Ranald” is by this critic, and most
others, ranked as the finest composition in Modern Gaelic; certainly
many Highlanders prefer it even to the “Coire Cheathaich,” or the still
more famous “Ben Dorain” of Duncan Bàn. Assuredly no one could read this
poem “Of the hurling of the birlinn through the cold glens of the sea,
loudly snoring,” without being stirred by its vigour and power. The
portion here given is merely a fragment, for the original is much too
long for quotation--indeed, it is said to be the longest poem in Gaelic,
except such as are Ossianic. For a full account of Macdonald and his
poems, including the translation of the greater part of “The Manning of
the Birlinn,” see Pattison’s _Gaelic Bards_.
ANGUS MACKENZIE. PAGE 201
“The Lament of the Deer” is the work of a favourite Highland poet whose
name is particularly familiar in the Northern Highlands. Angus Mackenzie
was head forester of Lord Lovat, and most of his poems have the impress
of his well-loved profession. “The Cumha nam Fiadh” was composed during
the recovery from a severe illness, when the poet’s chief regret was his
inability to be with Lovat and his Frasers at the hunting of the stag.
The translation here given was made by Charles Edward and John Sobieski
Stuart, and is to be found in their _Lays of the Deer Forest_
(Blackwood, 1848).
DUNCAN BÀN MACINTYRE. PAGE 203
A name loved throughout the Highlands and Islands. Even the most
illiterate crofters are familiar with Duncan Bàn and much of his poetry,
and there are few who could not repeat at least some lines of “Ben
Dorain.” The Hunter Bard of Glenorchy, as he is often called--though his
best title is the affectionate Gaelic “Duncan of the Songs”--was born on
the 20th of March 1724, at Druimliaghart in Glenorchy, Argyll. His first
song was composed on a sword with which he was armed at the battle of
Falkirk--where he served on the Royalist side as substitute for a
gentleman of the neighbourhood. “This sword,” says his biographer,
Thomas Pattison, “the poet lost or threw away in the retreat. On his
return home therefore, the gentleman to whom it belonged, and whose
substitute he had been, refused to pay the sum for which he had engaged
Duncan Bàn to serve in his stead. Duncan consequently composed his song
on ‘The Battle of the Speckled Kirk’--as Falkirk is called in Gaelic--in
which he good-humouredly satirised the gentleman who had sent him to the
war, and gave a woful description of ‘the black sword that worked the
turmoil,’ and whose loss, he says, made its owner ‘as fierce and furious
as a grey brock in his den.’ The song immediately became popular, and
incensed his employer so much that he suddenly fell upon the poor poet
one day with his walking-stick, and, striking him on the back, bade him
‘go and make a song about that.’ He was, however, afterward compelled by
the Earl of Breadalbane to pay the bard the sum of 300 merks Scots (£16,
17s. 6d.), which was his legal due.” Although in his later years he was
for a time one of the Duke of Argyll’s foresters, most of his later
life was spent in Edinburgh, where he was one of the City Guard. In that
city he died in 1812, in his eighty-ninth year, and lies in Greyfriars
Churchyard. In all there have been seven editions of his _Gaelic Songs_.
“Ben Dorain” has been translated several times, most successfully by
Thomas Pattison and the late Professor Blackie. The version here given
is that of the former; while the following poem (“The Hill Water,” page
208) is that of Professor Blackie.
Translations of both “Ben Dorain” (in full) and of “Coire Cheathaich”
(The Misty Corrie) are included in Pattison’s _Gaelic Bards_. Professor
Blackie’s version of “Ben Dorain” is in his well-known book, _Altavona_.
MARY MACLEOD. PAGE 210
The most famous of Hebridean poets was born in Harris of the Outer
Hebrides in 1569. She may be regarded either as the last of the poets of
the Middle Scoto-Celtic period, or, more properly, as the first of the
moderns. She is generally spoken of in the Western Isles as Màiri
nighean Alastair Ruaidh (Mary, daughter of Alexander the Red). “Although
she could never either read or write, her poetry is pure and chaste in
its diction, melodious, though complicated, in its metre, clear and
graceful, and frequently pathetic” (Pattison). She died at Dunvegan, in
the Isle of Skye, in 1674, at the great age of 105. For some reason,
Mary Macleod was banished from Dunvegan by Macleod of Macleod, but his
heart was melted by the song here given, and the exile was recalled, and
that, too, with honour, and enabled to live in Macleod’s country
thenceforth in prosperity and happiness.
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY SCOTO-CELTIC
MONALTRI. PAGE 217
These lines tell their own tale. The translation given is that of Thomas
Pattison.
HIGHLAND LULLABY. PAGE 218
This lullaby first appeared in the _Duanaire_, edited by D. C.
Macpherson (1864). It is supposed to be sung by a disconsolate mother
whose babe has been stolen by the fairies. In each verse she mentions
some impossible task she has performed, but still she has not found her
baby. _Coineachan_ is a term of endearment applied to a child. (Quoted
by “Fionn” in the _Celtic Monthly_ for September 1893.)
BOAT SONG. PAGE 219
This boat song, so familiar to West Highlanders, is in the rendering of
Professor Blackie.
JOHN STUART BLACKIE. (1809-1895.) PAGE 222
The late Professor Blackie was born in Glasgow and brought up for the
law. This he forsook for literature, and ultimately, in 1852, was
appointed to the Greek Chair in Edinburgh University. All particulars of
the brilliant Professor’s life and writings will be found in the
recently-published biography by Miss Anna Stoddart. Professor Blackie’s
name will always be held in affectionate regard for his unselfish
efforts to preserve and cultivate the Gaelic language and literature,
and because of his having been mainly instrumental in founding the Chair
of Celtic Literature in the University of Edinburgh. His poetical
writings are mostly to be found in _Lays and Legends of Ancient Greece_
(1857), _Lyrical Poems_ (1860), and _Lays of the Highlands and Islands_
(1872).
ROBERT BUCHANAN. PAGE 224
The foremost Scoto-Celtic poet of our time, was born in Glasgow, 1841.
It would be needless to give particulars concerning the life and work of
so eminent a contemporary. Lovers of the Celtic Muse will doubtless be
familiar (or if not, ought to be) with Mr Buchanan’s _Book of Orm_. Much
of his early poetry is strongly imbued with the Celtic atmosphere. Those
who have read his several volumes of verse need no further guidance, but
readers unacquainted with the poetical work of one of the foremost poets
of our day should obtain the collective edition of his poems published
by Messrs Chatto & Windus. “The Flower of the World” (page 224), “The
Dream of the World without Death” (pages 228-234) are from _The Book of
Orm_; “The Strange Country” comes from _Miscellaneous Poems and Ballads_
(1878-1883). No more memorable poem than “The Dream” has been written by
an Anglo-Celtic poet.
LORD BYRON. (1788-1824.) PAGES 238-239
Byron is represented in _Lyra Celtica_ by virtue of his Celtic blood and
undoubtedly Celtic nature, rather than because there is much trace of
Celtic influence in his poetry. The two lyrics given here may be taken
as fairly representative of that part of his poetical work which may
with some reason be called Celtic, though, of course, there is nothing
in them which radically differentiates them from the lyrics of any
English poet. More than one eminent critic, foreign as well as British,
has claimed for Byron that he was the representative Celtic voice of the
early part of the century; but Byron was really much more the voice of
his own day and time than anything more restricted.
CRODH CHAILLEAN. PAGE 240
This familiar Highland Milking Song is given in the translation of Dr
Alexander Stewart of Nether Lochaber.
MACCRIMMON’S LAMENT. PAGE 241
Perhaps the most famous pipe-tune in the Highlands is the “Cumha mhic
Criomein,” composed by Donald Bàn MacCrimmon, on the occasion of the
Clan MacLeod, headed by their chief, embarking to join the Royalists in
1746. The Lament is said to have been composed by Donald Bàn under the
influence of a presentiment that he as well as many others of the clan
would never return; a presentiment fulfilled, for he was killed in a
skirmish near Moyhall. The tune and the chorus are old, but it is
commonly believed the poem was composed by Dr Norman Macleod; at any
rate, they first appeared in a Gaelic article on the MacCrimmons, which
he contributed in 1840 to “Cuairtear nan Gleann” (“Fionn,” the _Celtic
Monthly_). The translation here given is that of Professor Blackie.
IAN CAMERON (“IAN MOR”). PAGE 242
Translated from the Gaelic by Miss Fiona Macleod.
JOHN DAVIDSON. PAGE 243
Mr Davidson was born at Barrhead, near Paisley, on April 11th, 1857.
After his preliminary education at the Highlanders’ Academy, Greenock,
he went to Edinburgh University. For a time he taught in Greenock, and
also gained a certain amount of literary experience in occasional
contributions to the _Glasgow Herald_ and other papers. In 1886 he
published _Bruce: a Drama_, followed by _Smith: a Tragedy_ (1888),
_Scaramouch in Naxos: and other Places_ (1889), _In a Music Hall, and
other Poems_ (1891), _Fleet Street Eclogues_ (1893), _Ballads and Songs_
(1894), _Second Series of Fleet Street Eclogues_ (1895), besides several
volumes of prose papers and fiction. Although _Bruce_ was Mr Davidson’s
first published work, he had begun to write at a much earlier period:
his _An Historical Pastoral_ was composed in 1877; _A Romantic Farce_ in
1878; while _Bruce_ was written four years before its publication. Mr
Davidson’s later poetical writings have been mainly in the form of songs
and lyrical ballads, and these have placed him in the foremost rank of
the younger poets of to-day. He has the widest range, the largest
manner, and the intensest note of any of the later Victorians. The two
poems by which he is represented here are eminently characteristic, and
none the less Celtic in their essential quality from the fact that the
one deals with a loafer of the London streets and the other with a
scenic rendering of an impression gained in Romney Marsh. Mr Davidson’s
latest writings are “The Ballad of an Artist’s Wife,” not as yet issued
in book form, and the just published second series of the _Fleet Street
Eclogues_ (John Lane). Both “A Loafer” and “In Romney Marsh” are from
_Ballads and Songs_.
JEAN GLOVER. (1758-1800.) PAGE 246
The author of “O’er the Muir amang the Heather” was the daughter of a
Highland weaver settled in Kilmarnock. She married a strolling actor,
and her fugitive songs became familiar throughout the West of Scotland.
“O’er the Muir amang the Heather” has become a classic.
GEORGE MACDONALD. PAGE 247
This popular Scottish novelist and poet was born at Huntly, in
Aberdeenshire, December 10, 1824. As a novelist he has almost as large
an audience as have any of his contemporary romancists. His poems are
less widely known, though in them he has expressed himself with great
variety and subtlety. The Celtic element is not conspicuous in Dr
Macdonald’s work either in prose or verse; but sometimes, as in the
little song “Oimè,” quoted here, it finds adequate expression. This song
is from his early volume _Within and Without_.
RONALD CAMPBELL MACFIE. PAGE 249
The author of _Granite Dust_ (Kegan Paul) is one of the most promising
of the younger Celtic Scots.
WILLIAM MACDONALD. PAGE 250
One of the band of young writers associated with _The Evergreen_
(Patrick Geddes and Colleagues, Edinburgh). Mr Macdonald has not yet
issued his poems in book form.
AMICE MACDONELL. PAGE 251
Miss Macdonell has not, so far as I know, published a volume. “Culloden
Moor” appeared in the _Celtic Monthly_ in June 1893.
ALICE C. MACDONELL. PAGE 252
Miss Alice Macdonell of Keppoch has contributed many poems to Scottish
and other periodicals. “The Weaving of the Tartan” appeared in the
_Celtic Monthly_ for December 1894.
WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY. (1796-1852.) PAGE 254
The author of “The Thrush’s Song” was not a poet, but occasionally
indulged in the pleasure of verse-making. He was a well-known Highland
ornithologist, and it may be added that his attempt at an onomatopoeic
rendering of the song of the thrush has been pronounced by Buckland and
other ornithologists to be remarkably close.
FIONA MACLEOD. PAGE 255
Miss Macleod is one of the younger writers most intimately associated
with the Celtic Renascence in Scotland. “The Prayer of Women” (see page
255) is from _Pharais: a Romance of the Isles_ (Frank Murray, Derby,
1894); “The Rune of Age” and “A Gaelic Milking Song” are from _The
Mountain Lovers_ (John Lane); the “Lullaby” and the two songs of Ethlenn
Stuart are from her last volume, _The Sin-Eater: and other Tales_
(Patrick Geddes and Colleagues, Edinburgh). “The Closing Doors” has not
been published hitherto. The brief lyric, “The Sorrow of Delight,” was
contributed to an as yet unpublished fantastic sketch, _The Merchant of
Dreams_, written in collaboration with a friend. Such of the poems
scattered through her several volumes, and others, as she wishes to
preserve in connected form, will be published by Miss Macleod early in
1896 (Patrick Geddes and Colleagues), under the title of _Lyric Runes
and Fonnsheen_.
NORMAN MACLEOD. PAGE 266
There is no Highlander held in more affectionate remembrance and
admiration than the late Dr Norman Macleod: and with justice; for no one
worked more arduously, understandingly, and sympathetically for the
cause of the Gaelic language, Gaelic literature, and the Gaelic people
than the famous poet-minister, who, to this day, is commonly spoken of
as “The Great Norman.” It was, however, Dr Norman the elder who wrote
“Fiunary,”--and not, as commonly stated, the late Dr Norman. His
“Farewell to Fiunary” is probably the most universally-known modern poem
in the West Highlands. (For critical remarks as to the authenticity of
this poem, see Dr Nigel M‘Neil’s _Literature of the Highlanders_, pp.
283-286.)
SARAH ROBERTSON MATHESON. PAGE 267
Mrs Robertson Matheson, some of whose poems in periodicals have
attracted the attention of lovers of poetry, is chief secretary and
treasurer of the Clan Donnachaidh Society. The fine lyric, “A Kiss of
the King’s Hand,” appeared in the _Celtic Monthly_ for May 1894; but I
regret that version has inadvertently been followed, for it twice
misspells _tae_ for “to,” and in the third line of the third quatrain
has a misreading (“jewels” instead of “ruffles”).
It may interest many readers to know that “A Kiss of the King’s Hand”
decided the descendant of Flora Macdonald to leave Mrs Robertson
Matheson the last heirloom of Scottish romance, the “ring of French
gold” given by Prince Charlie to Flora, and holding the lock of hair cut
from “the king’s head” by her and her mother.
DUGALD MOORE. PAGE 268
“The First Ship” is so remarkable a poem that it is difficult to
understand how it has met with so little recognition, and escaped most,
if not all, of the Scottish and British anthologists. Dugald Moore was
the son of Highland parents, and was born in Glasgow in 1805. His first
book was entitled _The Bard of the North_, and consisted of a series of
poetical tales illustrative of Highland scenery and character (1833).
_The Hour of Retribution_ and _The Devoted One_ appeared respectively in
1835 and 1839. Moore died unmarried in the 36th year of his age (Jan. 2,
1841), and was buried in the Necropolis of Glasgow. It is a pity that
the poem could not have appeared without its fourth stanza, which is
inferior to the others.
LADY CAROLINE NAIRNE. (1766-1845.) PAGE 269
Needless to say anything here concerning the “Flower of Strathearn.”
Baroness Nairne was mainly Celtic in blood and wholly Celtic in genius.
“The Land o’ the Leal” is now one of the most famous and most loved
lyrics in the English language. (Readers may be referred to _Life and
Songs of Baroness Nairne_, 1868.)
ALEXANDER NICOLSON. PAGE 270
Besides this fine poem, “On Skye,” Sheriff Nicolson has translated the
“Birlinn” of Alexander Macdonald, and has written many moving verses
full of Gaelic sentiment of a robust kind.
SIR NOËL PATON. PAGE 272
Joseph Noël Paton was born at Dunfermline on the 13th of December 1821;
and while his father was also of partial Celtic origin, Sir Noël is,
through his mother, the descendant of the last of the Scoto-Celtic
kings. Of his career as a painter it is not necessary to speak here. His
two volumes of poetry are _Poems by a Painter_ (1861) and _Spindrift_
(1867). The best account of the life and work of this distinguished Scot
is the monograph recently published by Mr David Croal Thomson, as the
“Art-Annual” of _The Art Journal_. The two poems by which Sir Noël is
represented in this book are not to be found in either of his volumes,
and their appearance here is due to the courtesy of the author.
WILLIAM RENTON. PAGE 274
Mr Renton was born in Perthshire, of Scoto-Celtic parents. “Mountain
Twilight” is taken from his first volume of poems called _Oils and Water
Colours_ (Hamilton, Edinburgh, 1876). Mr Renton’s only other volume of
verse is his _Songs_ (Fisher Unwin, 1893).
LADY JOHN SCOTT. PAGE 275
The author of “Durisdeer” was of mixed Highland and Lowland descent. Her
poem has a permanent place in our literature because of its haunting
passion and pain.
EARL OF SOUTHESK. PAGE 276
Lord Southesk (James Carnegie) was bom in 1827. He first made his name
in literature by his strange and vigorous _Jonas Fisher_ (1875). This
was followed by _Greenwood’s Farewell_ (1876), and _The Meda Maiden_
(1877); though most of the poems contained in these two volumes, with
several others, are comprised in _The Burial of Isis_ (1884).
JOHN CAMPBELL SHAIRP. PAGE 277
This able Scottish writer was of Celtic origin through his mother.
Readers unacquainted with the poems of the late Principal Shairp, and
ex-Professor of Poetry at Oxford, will do best to turn to the posthumous
volume, edited, with a memoir, by Francis Turner Palgrave, entitled
_Glen Dessary_ (Macmillan, 1888).
UNA URQUHART. PAGE 279
I know nothing else of Gaelic or English verse by this young writer. “An
Old Tale of Three,” as it appears here, is a rendering of the original
by Miss Fiona Macleod.
LOST LOVE. PAGE 280
The author of this poem is unknown. The original is in the Gaelic of the
Western Isles, and is one of the several fugitive songs rescued by
Thomas Pattison. The version given here, however, is not identical with
his, the first and last quatrains having been added by another hand.
CONTEMPORARY ANGLO-CELTIC POETS (WALES)
GEORGE MEREDITH. PAGE 283
Mr George Meredith, who recently has been addressed in a dedication as
“The Prince of Celtdom,” is rather the sovereign of contemporary English
literature. Although of Welsh descent and sympathies, and with a nature
pre-eminently Celtic in its distinguishing characteristics, Mr Meredith
was born in Hampshire on February 12th, 1828. Part of his early
education was received in Germany, and after his return to England it
was intended that he should pursue the legal profession: an intention
set aside on account of an irresistible bias toward literature. His
first published writings were in verse: and now this early little book,
_Poems_, published in his twenty-third year (1851) is one of the rarest
treasures for the bibliophile. It is dedicated to Thomas Love Peacock,
whose intellectual influence upon the young writer is obvious. In 1850
the poet married the daughter of Peacock, but it was not till a year or
two later that he definitely set himself to the profession of literature
as also a means of livelihood. It is characteristic of him that his
first prose book should be one of his most individual writings; for _The
Shaving of Shagpat_ might have been written at almost any period of its
author’s career. A fascinating and perplexing production it must indeed
have seemed at that time, published as it was in a year which, with the
exception of two radically distinct American works of pre-eminent note,
Longfellow’s _Hiawatha_ and Walt Whitman’s _Leaves of Grass_, was a
singularly barren one. The fantasy has always remained a favourite with
staunch Meredithians. It was followed two years later by the somewhat
akin _Farina_; and two years passed again before that first important
work appeared which so profoundly affected the minds and imagination of
Mr Meredith’s contemporaries--the now famous _Ordeal of Richard
Feverel_, (1859). Since that date Mr Meredith has given us what many
consider the greatest literary legacy of our time; and unquestionably he
has had no compeer in brilliant delineation of life at white heat. It is
unnecessary to specify the works of an author with which all lovers of
literature must be familiar; but a word must be added as to the delight
which the reading world has known this year in the publication of _The
Amazing Marriage_, one of the most brilliant and vivid of all Mr
Meredith’s romances, and, in its display of his characteristic quality
at his best, ranking with _Harry Richmond_, _The Egoist_, and _Diana of
the Crossways_. As a poet George Meredith is less widely known, or,
rather, is less widely accepted. There are, nevertheless, many who
regard his poetic achievement as perhaps the most essential part of what
he has given us. In depth of thought, in clarity of vision, and in
remarkable expressional subtlety,--often, if not invariably, set forth
in a lyric utterance whose only fault is that of an occasional apparent
incoherence due to rapidity of thought and eagerness of rhythmic
emotion--he stands here, as in all else, alone. From that
extraordinarily powerful study of contemporary life, expressed
emotionally and rhythmically in singularly convincing verse, _Modern
Love_, to his latest volume, _The Empty Purse_, there is a range of
rhythmic and lyric beauty which may well be a challenge to posterity to
redeem the relative neglect of the mass of Mr Meredith’s contemporaries.
I am not of those who consider Mr Meredith’s least popular poems as mere
cryptic utterances in verse; for everywhere I find the lyric
spirit,--hampered, at times, it is true, by a wind-rush of images, and
by a sudden drove of unshepherded words. But who could read “Love in the
Valley,” “The Lark Ascending,” “The Woods of Westermain,” “The
South-Wester,” “The Hymn to Colour,” to mention five only, without
recognising that here indeed we have one of the great poets of our time.
The poems by which, owing to the gracious courtesy of Mr Meredith--who
has consented to forego for once his great objection to the appearance
of any of his poems in miscellaneous collections--he is here
represented, are from his later volumes. The “Dirge in Woods,” “Outer
and Inner,” and the superb “Hymn to Colour,” are from _A Reading of
Earth_ (1888), the volume which contains “Hard Weather,” “The
South-Wester,” “The Thrush in February,” “The Appeasement of Demeter,”
“Woodland Peace,” the noble ode “Meditation under Stars,” and that
flawless and memorable sonnet, “Winter Heavens.” The “Night of Frost in
May” is from the volume entitled _The Empty Purse_ (1892). Mr Meredith’s
other volume of poetry, the favourite with most of his readers, is
_Poems and Lyrics of the Joy of Earth_ (1883). This book includes “The
Woods of Westermain,” “The Day of the Daughter of Hades,” “The Lark
Ascending,” “Phœbus with Admetus,” “Melampus,” “Love in a Valley,” and
the group of sonnets beginning with “Lucifer in Starlight,” and ending
with “Time and Sentiment.” All Mr Meredith’s poetical writings are now
published by Messrs Macmillan.
SEBASTIAN EVANS. PAGE 292