THE MACDONALD COLLECTION OF 

GAELIC POETRY

REV. A MACDONALD

&

REV. A. MACDONALD

INVERNESS

1911

DESCRIPTION:  hefty 4to (25cm), xcii, 408pp. Original publisher's cloth - t.e.g.

CONDITION:VERY GOOD. Binding sound some minor wear to extremities and rubbing to joints.  Slight darkening  Some minor marks internally.  No previous names.  Very little foxing.  From the collection of the late Gaelic scholar and poet  Derick Thomson (Ruaraidh MacThòmais). An excellent copy of scarce and important collection, mainly of previously unpublished work, of great variety, by Macdonald songsters.  Preface and contents below.

  *****************

PREFACE. 

The Editors, who have been engaged in the 

preparation of this volume now for some time, 

desire to express their regret at the unavoidable 

delay in its publication. The poems came into their 

possession from various sources, which have been fully 

detailed in the Introduction and Table of Contents. 

The volume consists almost entirely of poems which 

have not hitherto been published. In a few cases, 

the Editors consider themselves justified in including 

variants, as well as more complete versions, of 

poems that have already appeared in print. In 

making this contribution to the native literature, 

the Editors, to whom it cost considerable labour, 

would fain hope that their efforts will be appreciated 

by all lovers of the Gaelic tongue. The Editors 

desire further to gratefully acknowledge the assist- 

ance rendered in the preparation of the volume by, 

among others. Miss Fanny Tolmie, Edinburgh, and 

Miss Christina Macdonald, Kiltarlity Manse ; Dr 

Morrison, Kinloid, Larkhall ; Mr and Mrs James 

Macdonald, Moss Cottage, Benbecula ; Mr Farquhar 

Maclemian and his daughter. Nurse Marion Mac- 

lennan, Balivanich, Benbecula. 

March, 1911. 

CONTENTS 

List of Subscribers ....... Ixxiii. 

Introduction ......... Ixxvii. 

I. 

SioL Cholla 1 

This panegyric on the race of Colla Uais, from 

whom the Family of the Isles is descended, is from 

a. manuscript in the possession of Clanranald, and 

is in the handwriting of Cathal MacVurich, who 

flourished in the latter half of the 16th and in the 

first half of the 17th century. The name of the 

author is not given, but it was probably composed 

by one of the MacVurichs early in the period of the 

Lordship of the Isles, when the MacVurichs were 

bards and Benachies to the Island Lords. '5''--' . *. 

Rannan Molaidh DO Chlann Domhnuill ... 6 

These lines were composed by O 'Henna, an Irish 

bard, in the time of John Macdonald of Isla, Earl 

of Ross and Lord of the Isles from 1449 to 1498. 

They are from the Black Book of Clanranald, and 

are entitled, " O hena do rine so deoin a hile." 

III. 

MoLADH Chlann Domhnuill ..... 7 

This panegyric on the Macdonalds is from an 

ancient manuscript written in the Irish character. 

The name of the author is not given. It dates back 

to an early period in the history of the Lordship of 

the Isles. It is a fine poem, much above the general level 

of Buch eulogies in chasteness of conception and 

vividness of style. 

IV. 

A Chreag Ghuanach 

This poem takes its name from a rocky eminence 

in Lochaber. It is commonly styled " A Chomhachag " — " The Owl " — 

originally a denizen of that  rock, and latterly domesticated with the author, 

Domhnull Mac Fhionnlaidh nan Dan. There are 

many versions of the poem. The version given here 

has been collated from several manuscripts, one of 

which is dated in the year 1725. The author, 

Donald Macdonald, was a famous hunter, of the 

Macdonalds of Glencoe, and flourished in the early 

part of the 16th century. 

Cead do 'n t-Seilg 17 

This poem, as a whole, is now printed for the 

first time. It is of the same measure as the previous 

poem, to which it bears a strong resemblance, and is 

by the same author. 

VI. 

Mabbhrann do dh' Ailein, Triath Chlann Raghnuill, 

AGUS DO RaONULL, A MHAC ..... 20 

This elegy was composed by MacVurich, the 

Bard of Clanranald, on the deaths of two chiefs of 

the family — the famous Allan Mac Rory, who died 

in 1505, and Ranald, his son, who died in 1509. 

It is from the Book of Clanranald, and is written 

in the Irish character and orthography. A trans- 

literation is here given. 

VII. 

Urkuigh Mara Chlann Raghnuill .... 26 

This fine old hymn — the prayer of the Clan- 

ranald when going to sea — begins with an invocation 

of the Virgin and Christ, that they would spread 

over those at sea, from white dawn to golden eve 

and through the dark, dismal night their blessed 

covering, with the guidance and glory of the nine 

Summer rays, till they reach Moidart and the good 

son of Mac Allan. 

VIII. 

Marbhrann do Shih Domhnull, Thiath Chlann 

Raghnuill '"^ . .26 

This elegy, which is from an old manuscript, was 

composed on the death, in 1618, of Sir Donald 

Macdonald of Clanranald by his wife, Mary, 

daughter of Angus Macdonald of Dunnyveg and the 

Glens. It is a fine elegy, abounding in tenderness 

and poetic feeling. It throws light on the cause, 

though not the manner, of Sir Donald's death. The 

Macdonalds of Knoydart appear, from the allusion 

to them, to have been directly or indirectly to blame. 

It is worthy of notice that whisky was in use at 

that time. 

IX. 

Oran Gaoil do Nighsan MhicDhomhnuill Chinntire 30 

This love-song was composed by Maclean of 

Duart to a daughter of Macdonald, evidently of 

Dunnyveg. It is one of the few surviving love- 

songs of the 16th century, composed before the more 

modern type of love-song, with its tendency towards 

stereotyped phrases, came into being. Mary, 

daughter of Alastair Ma-c Iain Chathanaich of 

Dunnyveg, married Hector Mor Maclean of Duart, 

and it was no doubt in her praise the chief composed 

this beautiful song. 

X. 

Oran do Mhao Iain 'ic Sheumais .... 31 

This is a fragment of a song composed by Nic 

Coiseam, his foster-mother, . in praise of Donald 

Macdonald, patronyniically known as Mac Iain 'ic 

Sheumais, who defeated the Macleods in an engage- 

ment au Carinish, in North Uist, in 1601. Nic 

Coiseam, who lived at Eriska with her foster-son, 

arrived at Carinith on the morning after the fight. 

On arriving at the Benbecula side of the ford, she 

gave a loud peculiar cry, and Macdonald hearing it 

sent a boat and crew to bring her across. It was 

on her arrival at Carinish that she sang this song. 

There is a traditio) , persistently adhered to in 

North Uist, that she sang this song to soothe her 

hero, who had been wounded in the fight, but that 

having failed in her object, she sent for the women 

of the district to sing an Oran Luaidh, while Nic 

Coiseam herself performed the part of a surgeon in 

extracting the arrow from Macdonald 's foot. The 

song sung on the occasion was her own " Oran 

Mhic Iain 'ic Sheumais," one of the best of waulk- 

ing songs, where the exploits of her hero are duly 

recounted, published in the Oranaiche from a 

manuscript of the late Rev. J. N. Macdonald, 

minister of Harris. Nic Coiseam not only nursed 

Donald as a child, his mother having died when he 

was young, but she brought him up, had the most 

unbounded affection for him, and ever afterwards 

lived with him. Like Fingal's foster-mother, she 

was a masculine, able-bodied, handsome woman. 

She had strong passions, deep prejudices, keen feel- 

ings, and genius of a high order. Macdonald fought 

the Macleods in many a field. At Carinish, with 12 

followers, he defeated 60 Macleods led by Donald 

Glass of Drynoch. Nic Coiseam refers to the Mac- 

leods as " Siol a Chapuill," a distinction more than 

once met with. They were the race of the " horse," 

as the Clan Chattan were of the " cat," and the 

Macdonalds of the " dog," possibly a survival of 

Totemism. The hero of Carinish, ancestor of Allan 

Macdonald of Kingsburgh, husband of the illustri- 

ous Flora, lived at Eriska, in South Uist; Carinish, 

in North Uist ; and Cuidrach, in Skye. He died in ~^ 

the house of hie son-in-law, Macleod of Giesto, in 5\ 

1650. ^ \J 

XI 

Co-BEAG, NO loRRAM MhOR MhIC IaIN IC ShEUMUIS . 32 

Thfs fragment by Macdonald, who apparently 

cultivated the Muses with some success, refers to the 

quarrel with the Macleods. Loch-na-bleide is Dun- 

vegan Loch, and Mairi Bheag is his own daughter, 

married to Macleod of Gaesto. There were three 

kinds of boat-songs, lorram mhor, Creagag, and 

lomarhhaigh. The lorram, mhor had no repetition 

of the chorus, and the air was somewhat slow. It 

was sung in large boats, after the land was left 

behind, and the rowers with a long and steady pull 

stretched themselves to the oars. Creagag is a 

quick, spirited song, adapted to a small boat among 

rocks (whence the name) and islands, where the oars 

require to be plied swiftly and lightly. The lomar- 

hhaigh is sung by two rowers, verse about, and is 

properly sung extempore, each composing his verse, 

praising, or scolding, or arguing, as they proceed, 

and is intended to produce excitement in the rowers, 

lessen their toil, and provide a stimulus for their 

energies. 

XII. 

Creagag, no Iokram Bheag Mhic Iain 'ic Sheumuis . 33 

This song by Macdonald contains reminiscences 

of the battle of Culeen, another engagement in 

which he fought the Macleods successfully — 

" Bu mhaith Sliochd Dhomhnuill Ghruamaich 

A dol suas Blar a Chuilthionn."^ 

He remembers also the creach of Dunvegan in the 

days of tie youth, when doughty deeds were done by 

Donald Gorm and his brother Archibald at the very 

threshold of the enemy. The fight at Culeen took 

Otjl place about 16 i(^. 

XIII. 

Oram Brathan 34 

This quern song is by the same author. In hie 

old age he lived in the house of a daughter who was 

PAGE 

married to Macleod of Gaesto, and evidently felt 

very lonely. One day he entered a back wing, 

attached to the house, called the " Cul-tigh," or " Cul- 

aisde," where two women were grinding with the 

quern, but without the usual song accompaniment. 

The women made the excuse that they knew no 

suitable song. Macdonald then took up his grand- 

son, a young child, in his arms, told the women to 

raise the chorus and that he would give them a song. 

The song is in the form partly of a lullaby and 

partly of a soliloquy. He bewails his own solitude 

and somewhat dingy surroundings, as compared 

with his more prosperous days. He has given his 

son-in-law three good defenders — a coat of mail, a 

helmet, and a sword — in addition to a good wife. 

XIV. 

Oran do dh' Dhomhnull Goci.4 Og Shleibhte 35 

This song, in praise of Sir Donald Macdonald of 

Sleat, was composed by his foster-mother, or nurso. 

It is a poem in every way remarkable, powerful, 

vivid and picturesque in style, original in thought 

and expression, and containing several passages full 

of interest in the light they throw upon the social 

life of the chiefs of that day. The name of the 

authoress is unknown. It was composed about 1610. 

/ I This version was obtained from Miss Fanny Tolmie, 

* • Edinburgh, who took it down in Skye. 

XV. 

Oran do dh' Alastair Mac Coli.a .... 40 

This song was coinpoeed in praise of Major- 

General Sir Alexander Macdonald, son of Colla 

Ciotach of Colonsay, Montrose's famous lieutenant, 

and one of the great warriors of the race. It is in 

the measure of a waulking song. The version 

cannot be regarded as complete, and there are con- 

sequent obscurities often indeed characteristic of 

this species of lyric. In the 5th verse there is 

evidently a hiatus causing a sudden transition from 

the death of Auchinbreck, whom Alastair slew at 

Inverlochy, to sorrow for the death of the Mac- 

donald hero himself which would be shov^/^n by his 

friends, the Macneills of Barra and others, not likely 

to shed tears because a Campbell had been slain. 

Sir Alexander was killed at Cnocnanos, in Ireland, 

13th November, 1647, and the poem was composed 

no doubt shortly after that date. Glasgow is 

referred to as " Glascho bheag " — little Glasgow. 

This version was obtained by collating two previous 

ones, the fuller one having been taken down by Miss 

Fanny Tolmie in Barra. 

XVI. 

Marbhranh do Mhao Alastair na Luib ... 43 

This fine elegy was composed to Mac Alister of 

Loup, but we are not able to identify the particular 

Laird of Loup who was the subject of it, nor can we 

trace the author. 

XVII. 

Failte Raonuill, Marcus Unndruim ... 46 

Thij is a Welcome to Ranald Macdonald, first 

Marquis and second Earl of Antrim, on his coming 

to Scotland in the cause of King Charles I. in 1644. 

It contains a eulogy on the Antrim family descended 

from Sorley Buy Macdonald, son of Alastair Mac 

Iain Chathanaich of Dunnyveg and the Glens, and 

on the Clan Donald generally. Lord Antrim was a 

strenuous and enthusiastic supporter of the Stuart 

cause, and did everything in his power to raise forces 

for the Royal interest, but without avail. The 

author of the poem is unknown. 

XVIII. 

Briqhid Og nan Ciabh ...... 48 

This pretty little song in praise of Young Bridget 

of the locks was composed by some unknown bard in 

Ireland to a sister of some Earl of Antrim, as we 

gather from internal evidence. 

XIX. 

Clann Domhnuill an Cogadh Rioh Tearlach I. 49 

This is a eulogy on the Clan Donald in the Civil 

War of Charles I., in which their prowess as the 

progeny of Constantine of the Hundred Fights is 

duly magnified. At no time, even when the glory 

of the Clan was undimmed under the aegis of the 

Island dynasty, did they distinguish themselves in 

battle more than they did under the gallant Mon- 

trose. They rallied wonderfully to the support of 

the Stuart sceptre. The song was composed by a 

lady who fell in love with a Macdonald when the 

Macdonalds were on their way to the battle of 

Auldearn. To him she refers in the following 

verses, which were inadvertently omitted from their 

place in the song : — 

Tha mo chion air an fhleasgach 

A Dh' fhag mu fheasgar an de mi. 

« Och, a Righ, 's a Mhic Muire ! 

Leam a b' aithghearr a cheilidh. 

XX. 

Oran do Mhoeair Domhnullach Ghlinnegaradh 51 

Angus Macdonald of Glengarry, to whom this 

eulogy was composed, was raised to the peerage by 

King Charles II. at the Restoration in 1660 for his 

strenuous services both to that King and to hi« 

father, Charles I. John Lom Macdonald, the 

author of the eulogy, was himself elevated to the 

dignity of Poet-laureate to Charles II. The spirited 

poem was evidently composed by the famous bard 

during his sojourn in the Mackenize country as a 

fugitive from his native district, which had become 

too hot for him after the Keppoch murder, as he 

had been breathing threatenings and slaughter 

against all who had been involved in it. By this 

time the Mackenzies possessed the ancient heritage 

of the Macdonalds of Glengarry in Ross, but it is 

characteristic of John Lom that though Mackenzie's 

guest he would rejoice to soe the territorial status 

quo antea, and does not conceal his wish. 

XXI. 

Ba8 Mharcus Hundaidh 52 

This elegy on the Marquis of Huntly was com- 

posed by John Lorn on the death of the Marquis, 

who was executed at Edinburgh on March 22, 1649, 

for treasonable practices committed against the 

Covenanting Government. Montrose was at the 

time on the Continent, but the bard entertains th© 

hope — ill-founded it proved — that he would signalize 

hie return by a repetition of his former successes. 

XXII. 

X 

Oran do Choinneach Oa, Iarla Shiphort ... 56 

This song, which is evidently incomplete, was 

composed by John Lom during his residence in 

Kintail, to which he fled after the Keppoch murder. 

Kenneth, Earl of Seaforth, to whom the song wan 

composed, held the Earldom from 1678 to 1701. 

This is by no means a song of eulogy, but rather of 

biting sarcasm at the expense of the Earl, who, 

according to the bard, was only a better walker than 

the ducks, a better swimmer than the hens — this 

man with the crooked hanging mouth. 

XXIII. 

Soraidh do 'n Ghreumach 57 

The Greumach of this farewell song by John 

Lom was the Marquis of Montrose. It was composed 

after the Marquis's Highland campaign, when he 

went into exile. The bard has visions of his return, 

and of the coming back also of Alastair Mac Cholla 

with twice 900 men. 

XXIV. 

Oran do dh' Aonghus MacDhomhnuill na Leirgi 89 

These verses are addressed to Angus Macdonald 

of Largie, in Kintyre, the 9th head of that house, 

who flourished at the time of the Civil War of 

Charles I., and fought in the campaign of 1644-5. 

He was also with Montrose at the burning of Inver- 

aray in 1647, and served in Ireland under Donald 

of Clanranald. He was forfeited in 1649, and his 

property was given to Argyle. In 1661 the Act 

was rescinded. This is a fine poem, written in the 

Irish character, elevated in tone, and manifesting 

high literary taste. Largie's beauties are set forth, 

and the imminent sale of the inheritance of Clan- 

ranald Bane draws forth the bard's tender regrets. 

As a matter of fact, however, what the poet feared 

never happened, and Largie is still in the hands of 

a worthy scion of Clann Iain Mhoir. The poem was 

written about 1661. 

XXV. 

Marbhrann do Dhomhnull, Triath Chlann Raghnuill 61 

This elegy on Donald Macdonald, Chief of Clan- 

ranald, who died in 1680, is the composition of 

MacVurich, his own bard. The close connection of 

the MacVurich bardic school with Ireland has given 

the style of their poetry a strong Hibernian flavour. 

This poem possesses the same character to some 

extent, yet of all the poems of a similar origin it is 

the mo3t spontaneous and the least stereotyped. 

The bard, however, seems out of it in connecting 

the Clanranald line with the Earldom of Ross. This 

Chief gets the credit of having been a liberal patron 

of the bards, and a benevolent friend to the poor. 

XXVI. 

Marqiirann do 'n Mhorair Dhomhnullach ... 63 

This elegy on Lord Macdonald, Chief of Glen- 

garry, who died in Edinburgh in the year 1680, was 

composed by John Macdonald of Gruilean, in Eigg, 

of the Morar family, who flourished in the latter 

half of the 17th century, known as Iain Dubh Mac 

Iain 'ic Ailein, and a bard of note in his day. In 

the course of the jioem the bard makes a passing 

reference to a number of historical events and 

xvii. 

personages with which Glengarry was connected ; 

but there is special rancour, rivalling John Lorn 

himself, displayed at the expense of the Campbells. 

XXVII. 

Oran do 'n Phiobaire Mac-a-Ghlasraich ... 66 

The author of this song was Archibald Mac- 

donald of Keppoch, who died in 168^, and was a ^/ 

poet of repute. The verses, though headed by the * 

name of his own piper, who was a Campbell, 

are in reality an onslaught on the hereditary foes of 

Clan Donald, whose chief, referred to here as " arch- 

traitor," was executed in Edinburgh in 1685. 

Keppoch composed several poems of considerable 

merit, some of which have been published, such as 

" Tearlach Stiubhart, Fear Chailbhinne," " Freag- 

airt do dh' Alastair Friseil," and " Rannan 

Breugach." 

XXVIII. 

MuHT Ghlinne-Cothann 67 

The title of this composition as the Massacre of 

Glencoe, by John Lom, is not strictly descriptive of 

the poem, which says nothing of that historic crime. 

If the author got his way, the Campbells would be 

utterly destroyed, and their possessions divided 

among the leading Macdonalds — 

" Is mise bhiodh gu h-aighearach, 

'Nam faighinn mar a dh' iarruinn ; 

An ceann a thoirt de Mhac Cailein, 

Agus fail air Mac Iain Riabhaich." 

Probably the Glencoe tragedy would have inspired 

these thoughts. 

XXIX. 

Oran le Gilleasbuig na Ceapaich . ... 69 

This song, or hymn of praise, was composed by 

Archibald Macdonald of Keppoch on his death-bed. 

He dwells with frequent reiteration on his infirmity, 

but with a vein of resignation running parallel 

therewith. The chief complaint was apparently in 

his jaws, to which the herb, Guach fhadruig, with 

butter, seems to have been applied. 

XXX. 

Deoch-Slainte Mhic 'ic Raonuill .... 71 

This health song, or toast, of Coll Macdonald of 

Keppoch was composed by Angus Macdonald — 

Aonghus Mac Alastair Ruaidh, of the family of 

Glenco, a well-known bard in his day, who flourished 

in the latter half of the 17th century. Only a few 

of his compositions have been preserved. Among 

these are his elegy on John Lorn, and " Oran nam 

finneachan Gaidhealach." Coll of Keppoch was in 

continual conflict with Mackintosh over his patri- 

mony, and at the beginning of his career suffered 

imprisonment on account of his defiance of the 

charter holder. As a rule, however, he was more 

than a match for the Clan Chattan. Coll was 

abroad when this poem was composed, having 

escap d after the Battle of Sheriffmuir with Ranald 

of Clanranald, first to South Uist, and afterwards 

to France, where he lived in exile for three years. 

XXXI. 

Latba Raon-Ruairidh 74 

This song on the Battle of Killiecrankie, or 

" Latha Raon-Ruairidh," as Highlanders call it, is 

by Angus Macdonald, the author of the foregoing 

song. Versions have appeared in other collections 

of this spirited composition, but that given here, 

which is from a contemporary manuscript, is longer 

and more complete than any of them, and is a 

graphic description of the fight and those engaged 

in it on both sides. The bard himself must have 

taken part in the battle. Beginning with a eulogy 

and lament for Claverhouse, he goes on to detail 

many features of the bloody field, the loss sustained 

lix. 

by Sir Donald of Sleat, the youth of Allan of Clan- 

ranald, the death of Donald Gorm, Glengarry's 

heir, and the Tutor of Largie. The poem contains 

much contemporary history, and reflects the average 

Highland mind as to the events of the day. 

XXXII. 

Laoidh a rinn SiLia Niohean Mhic Raonuill 83 

Julia Macdonald, the authoress of this hymn, 

was a daughter of Archibald Macdonald of Keppoch, 

and was born in 1660. She composed several poems 

of great merit, the best of which are perhaps her 

elegies on the deaths of her husband and Alastair 

Dubh of Glengarry. In this hymn she laments the 

deaths of both her husband and daughter. She was 

an ardent Jacobite, and denounced the Hanoverians 

in the strongest invective. She married Alexander 

Gordon of Wardhouse, by whom she had iseue, and 

died in 1729. 

XXXIII. 

Laoidh Daingneachaidh 64 

The author of this Hymn of Confirmation was 

Domhnull Ban a Bhocain, in Lochaber, the author 

also of the hymn, " Diiisg a dhuin' aa do chadal." 

It is a good specimen of religioois poetry, manifeet- 

ing high religious principle. 

XXXIV. 

Ohan do dh' Alastair Dubh Ghlinnegaradh 86 

The author of this elegy on the Chief of Glen- 

garry is unknown. Alastair Dubh, who fought 

both at Killiecrankie and Sheriffmuir, was one of 

the most towering men of his race, and one who 

played a conspicuous part in the history of his time. 

He died in 1721, amid the universal regret of the 

bards, who sang his praises in many eulogistic 

strains, and was buried at Killianan, the laflt 

resting place of his fathers. 

XX. CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

XXXV. 

CuMHA DO dh' Aonghus Og Ghlinnegaradh 89 

The author of this lament was Angus Mac- 

donald, known as Aonghus Mac Ailein, probably 

of the Glengarry branch of the clan. Angus, to 

whom this elegy was composed, was the second son 

of John of Glengarry. He was " out " in the '45 

in command of the Glengarry Regiment, and was 

accidentally shot two days after the Battle of Fal- 

kirk, where he distinguished himself by his bravery, 

January 22, 1746. His son, Duncan, afterwards 

succeeded to Glengarry. 

XXXVI. 

Oban do dh' Alastaib Ruadh Ghlinnegaradh 92 

The name of the author of this song is not given 

in the manuscript, which is contemporary. The 

subject of the eulogy was Alastair Ruadh, notorious 

ae Mr Andrew Lang's " Pickle." He receives his 

due mead of praise in these verses. He succeeded 

his father in Glengarry in 1754, and died unmarried 

in 1761. 

XXXVII. 

Oram do dh' Alastair Ruadh Ghlinnegaradh 93 

The name of the author of this health-song to 

Glengarry is not given in the manuscript. 

XXXVIII. 

Oram do dh' Alastair Ruadh Ghlinnegaradh 95 

The author of this elegy on Glengarry was Angus 

Macdonald, who composed the lament for Alastair 

Ruadh's brother, Angus Og. The bard laments 

the death of both Alexander and his younger 

brother Angus, while Duncan, son of Angus, a child 

of tender years, is left to represent the family 

interests. 

X 

XXXIX. 

Oran do dh' Alastair Ruadh Ghlinnegaradh . . 97 

This eulogy on Glengarry is by John Macdonald, 

6th of Ardnabie, a Gaelic bard of note in his day, 

as were several other members of his family. He 

was a captain in the Glengarry Regiment in the '45 

campaign . 

XL. 

Oran Gaoil .99 

This is a love-song which tradition says was com- 

posed to her lover, who sailed the seas, by a lady of 

the family of Sleat. 

XLI. 

Marbhrann do Shir Seumus MacDhomhnuill 

Shleibhte 101 

The author of this elegy is unknown. It is to 

Sir James Macdonald, 8th Baronet of Sleat, styled 

the " Scottish Marcellus," who died in Rome in 

1766, and was buried there. 

XLII. 

Marbhrann Uisdean a Bhaileshear .... 103 

Hugh Macdonald of Baleshare, in North Uist, 

to whom John MacCodrum composed this elegy, was 

a grandson of Sir James Mor Macdonald of Sleat. 

He was an outstanding personage in his day in the 

Western Isles, and played an important part during 

the troubles of the '45. Though obliged openly to 

range himself on the Hanoverian side, he secretly 

espoused the cause of the Prince, and was one of the 

principal instruments in effecting his escape from 

the Long Island. While the Rebellion was in pro- 

gress he was in command of a company of Militia 

at Kyleakin. From the time the Prince landed in 

Uist after the defeat at Culloden, Hugh acted as 

Lady Margaret Macdonald 's agent in carrying 

newspapers, clothes, and other necessaries for his 

use to his hiding places. On June 10th, 1746, he, 

with Boisdale and others, visited the Prince at 

Corrodale, where they spent three days and three 

nights, during which the wine of the country circu- 

lated freely. Hugh Macdonald of Baleshare, whose 

character is depicted in this beautiful elegy in the 

brightest hues, died in 1769. 

XLIII. 

Oran na Bainnse ....... 106 

This song was composed by the bard at a wedding 

which he attended when he lived in South Uist. 

The author, Archibald Macdonald, known as " Gille 

no Ciotaig," was born at Arivicuish, Claddach 

Kirkibost, North Uist, about 1750, and was brought 

up there. He was patronymically known as Gilleas- 

buig Mac Iain 'ic Aonghuis 'ic Alastair, 'ic 

Ghilleasbuig, 'ic Dhomhnuill, 'ic Iain, 'ic Uisdean. 

He received a good education for the time, and 

became clerk to Alexander Macdonald, factor for 

Clanranald in South Uist. He composed many 

songs, and excelled as a comic poet. Nine of his 

eongs are given in " The Uist Collection," besides 

the two given here. We fear his other compositions 

are now lost. He died unmarried, a comparatively 

young man, in the end of the 18th century. 

XLIV. 

Co so breabadh na mnatha ? . . 108 

This song was composed under the following 

circumstances : — Gille-na-Ciotaig left Benmore at 

Usinish to stay a night with the Fuamhair at Beul- 

nahuamha, and when he arrived he found the people 

of the house fighting. On this account he had to 

take shelter elsewhere, but when he returned next 

morning the fight was still going on. He then 

began the song. Gille-na-Ciotaig had great com- 

mand of the vocabulary known as " Billingsgate." 

His ' ' Oran an Fhuamhair " is a scurrilous though 

clever com position. Some of his verses on " Bodach 

6 PAGE 

Bhearnasdail a Unish " coald not be printed. The 

Fuamhair, Aonghus Mac Challuim, lived at Ben- 

more, and was a " Leannan Baird " of great attrac- 

tion. His surname was Smith, and his son, John, 

who was also known as .4m Fuamhair, was a weak 

creature without any fixed residence, and a source 

of great amusement to young and old as he 

wandered through the parish of South Uist. 

XLV. 

Oran Fir Heisoir 109 

This song is in praise of Archibald Maclean of 

Heisker, in North Uist. His powers as a steersman 

and the seaworthy qualities of his galley are power- 

fully depicted. Archibald was a son of Iain Mac- 

Ghilleasbuig Oig of Heisker, of the family of 

Borer ay. He was at this time tacksman of Heisker 

and Steelbow tenant of Peinmore, now part of 

Balranald. He emigrated to Canada, and died at 

Ontario in the early part of last century. 

Rachel Macdonald, the authoress, known as 

Raonaid Nighean 'ic Neill, was a daughter of Nei! 

Macdonald, Gi:eHi*ote, North Uist, where she was 

born about 1750. She died at Lineclate, Benbecula, 

about 1820, and was buried at Nunton. Only a few 

of her songs have been preserved. From the speci- 

mens given in this collection, and a hymn published 

in Donald Macleod's Collection in 1811, it will be 

seen that she breathes the true spirit of poetry. 

" Oran Fir Heisgir " was composed by her while 

storm-stayed in Skye, where she was visiting her 

friends. Archibald Maclean of Heisker coming in 

his " Pearg " gave her a passage across the Minch 

to her native Uist. 

XL VI. 

Orak leis an Raonaid cheudna .112 

This song was also composed by Rachel when on 

a visit toher friends in Skye. 

XXIV. CONTENTS. 

PAGR 

XLVII. 

Oram Molaidh do Ghilleasbuig Og Heisgir 114 

This eulogy on Archibald Maclean of Heisker 

was composed by Anne Macdouald, his foster-sister, 

Nighean Domhnuill Oig, housekeeper at Balranald. 

Archibald was engaged to be married to Susan Mac- 

donald, Vallay, but he left her. Her brother, 

Major Alexander Macdonald, who was factor of 

North Uist, became somewhat oppressive to the gay 

Lothario, and he left the country. These facts are 

reflected in several passages of the song. 

XL VIII. 

Taladh Alastair Oig Bhalaidh . .116 

The author of this lullaby to Alexander Mac- 

donald of Vallay was Donald MacSween, North 

Uist, patronymically, Doinhnull MacRuairidh 'ie 

Suainn. Donald was found dead at Cousamul, a 

rock on the west coast of Uist, more than a hundred 

years ago.T Alexander Macdonald, 5th of Vallay, 

was for some time an officer in the Royal Navy, 

and died in 1845. 

XLIX. 

Marbhrann do Bhban Liandail ,117 

This elegy is by Angus Shaw, known as Mac-an- 

Lighiche. He was a native of Lynedale, in Skye, and 

had served for some time in the Army. His " Oran 

Bhuonaparte " is a spirited production. " Bean 

Liandail " was Jane Craigdallie, wife of Colonel 

Alexander Macdonald of Lynedale and Balranald. 

She died in 1818. 

L. 

Oran do 'n Choirneal Dhomhnullach 120 

This eulogy was composed to Colonel, afterwards 

General, Sir John Macdonald, K.C.B., of Dal- 

chosnie and Dunalastair, Colonel of the 92nd Regi- 

ment. Sir John, who was a distinguished soldier, 

t U^i^ hfctj^ Bo^k J , / X<^ * IJ , 1^6 

CONTENTS. XXV. 

FAGE 

and the father of a family of soldiers, all of whom 

were heroes, died on 24th June, 1866. The author 

of the eulogy was James Stewart, in Rannoch, 

known as Seumus Mor an Duine Bhain. 

LI. 

Oram Gaoil 124 

The author of this love-song was Angus Mac- 

donald (Aonghus Mac Iain 'ic Iain), Hougharry, 

North Uist, and the object of his affections was 

Mar3^r^ daughter of MacNeill, tacksman of Kyles- 

Bernera. Her father, who resented the persistent 

wooer's addresses, sent Mary to the lonely Island 

of Pabbay to be out of his way. 

LIT. 

Oran Molaidh do dh' Fhear Mhoghustot . 126 

The author of this eulogy is at present unknown 

to us. The subject of it was Hugh Peter Mac- 

donald of Mugstote, in Skye, son of Major Alex- 

ander Macdonald of Courthill, descended from Sir 

James Mor Macdonald of Sleat. 

LIII. 

Marbhkann do dh' Fhear Bhaile-Raghnuill 129 

This elegy is by Donald Maclean, at one time 

S.P.C.K. teacher at Cannish, North Uist. The 

subject of the elegy was James Thomas Macdonald 

of Balranald, factor for Lord Macdonald in North 

Uist, who died in 1855. 

LIV. 

Marbhrann do dh' Fhear na Ceapach . .131 

The author of this elegy on Angus MacDonell, 

tacksman of Keppoch, was Donald Macpherson, a 

mason, who lived at Inveroy. He afterwards went 

to Glasgow, and died there about 1890. Macpher- 

son composed a satire on John Walker of Loch 

Treig, in which he severely handled him, for 

XXVI. CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

depriving Seann Ghillean na Geapaich, uncles of 

Angus of Keppoch, of the farms of Insh and Loch 

Treig, a verse of which may here be given — 

" Thug thu Inns agus taobh Loch Treig uafch', 

Bha e aca mu 'm fac' thu fein e ; 

Nan robh Clann Domhnuill an coir a cheile, 

Cha robh 'n a' d' eiric na chum do cheann ort. " 

Angus MacDonell of Keppoch died in 1855. 

LV. 

Marburann do Choirneal Domhnullach, Innsb . . 134 

The author of this elegy was the Grobhann Ban, 

whose surname was Campbell. He lived at Bunroy, 

and was drowned in one of the Canal locks at Gair- 

lochy. Colonel Archibald MacDonell, Insh, who 

was a grandson of Keppoch who fell at Culloden, 

died in 1813. 

LVI. 

Oran Gaoil 137 

This is a love-song to his future wife, Marion, 

daughter of the Rev. Roderick Maclean, minister of 

South Uist, by the Rev. Roderick Macdonald, 

minister of Harris from 1847 to 1854, and of South 

Uist from 1854 to 1900, when he died. H© pos- 

sessed, besides many intellectual qualities of a high 

order, a strong poetic vein, to which he but rarely 

gave expression. This fine lyric is original in con- 

ception and style, and flows musically. 

LVII. 

Oran a Chlo 139 

This 6ong is by the same author, after his mar- 

riage. Mrs Macdonald occasionally occupied her 

leisure time at the spinning wheel, the yarn to bo 

manufactured into home-spun cloth. It is a 

humorous and sprightly effusion on the presumed 

merits and saleable qualities of the eld. 

CONTENTS. IXVU- 

PAGE 

LVIII. 

Oran Gaoil 141 

This is a love-song by the Rev. John N. Mac- 

donald, minister of Harris, in the name of the 

minister of North Uist, who was supposed to be in 

love with Miss Jane Macdonald, Balranald. The 

author was minister of Harris from 1855 to 1868, 

when he died. He was, besides being a man of 

extensive scholarship and many accomplishments, 

& poet, and had he devoted himself to the composi- 

tion of Gaelic poetry he would have attained to high 

distinction. 

LIX. 

CUIDEACHADH MhR. UiSDEAN ..... 143 

The occasion of the composition of this poem, 

which is by the same author as the last, was 

casual, but the poem itself is distinctly powerful, 

though there is eomething of the nature of an anti- 

climax towards the end. This is inevitable from 

the mock heroism of the motive. The Rev. Hugh 

Macdonald, minister of Bernera from 1851, and 

afterwards of Trumisgarry, had indulged in verses 

perilously bordering on the satirical at the expense 

of the minister of Harris, and this poem, by way of 

helping him, was the result. There is undoubted 

grotesqueness in the idea of Odin's head, said to be i 

buried at Griminish, having been, along with many 

others from the bygone ages, called to earth by the 

strains of Mr Hugh's lyre, looking for the largest 

human frame available, and finding even the 

gigantic proportions of Mr Macdonald, Scolpig, 

inadequate. 

LX. 

CuuHA DO Mhac Leoid Dhunbheaoain 148 

The subject of this lament, the author of which 

is unknowuj'^was Sir Rory Mor Macleod of Dun- 

veganfwho died in 1626 at Fortrose, and was buried 

in the Cathedral there. ». AjcJtt ( rM 

1^ A*^ <L^ , Xw 1 47-x:X^ <(^^j4f} , 

IXVUl. CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

LXI. 

8ath-Ghal Mairi Nigh'n Alastair Ruaidh 160 

This lament for Macleod was composed by the 

famous Harris poetess while the Chief was still 

living. Mary Macleod sang her lament by his bed- 

side. When the song ceased the Chief sat up, and 

Mary then sang a song of gratitude for his restora- 

tion to life. The Chief appeared to be very angry 

at her, and reminded her of his command to her to 

compos© no more songs. The poetess defended her- 

self by saying that it was not a song but a cronan, 

or crooning. It waa of this Chief, Roderick, the 

15th Macleod of Dunvegan, that Mary sang, on his 

death in 1664 — 

" Gur a sinn' th' air ar ciuradh, 

Tha leann-dubh oirnn a' muchadh ar cleibh, 

Mu Thighearn' Og sin ar duthcha 

Bidh sinn trie air ar 'n iirnuigh gu geur ; 

Ruairidh coir a chuil chleachdaich, 

Fear mor macanta treun, 

Craobh dheth 'n abhull a b' iiire, -». 

Gun do thuit i gun iibhlan, gun pheur." ' 

Mary Macleod was a daughter of Alexander Roy 

Macleod, and was b rn at Rodel, in Harris, in the 

latter half of the 16th century. She is said to 

have died at an advanced age in 1674. The song 

given here was taken down in 1861 from Mairi 

Bheag Nigh'n Domh'll 'ic Ruairidh, Ebost, Skye, 

by Miss Fanny Tolmie. 

LXII. 

Air Bas Chrombail 152 

These lines were composed by Maclachlan of 

Kilbride on the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658. 

LXIII. 

Marbhhann do MhacCoinnich Ghearlooh . .153 

This elegy, the author of which is unknown, was 

composed to Kenneth Mackenzie, 6th of Gairloch, 

who (ied in 1669, 

CONTENTS. XXIX. 

PAGE 

LXIV. 

CuMHA Iain Ghairbh 155 

John Garbh Macleod of Raasay, famous in song 

and story for his great physical strength and per- 

sonal exploits, was drowned in April, 1671, with 

26 other persons, " after a rant of drinking," on his 

way home from Lewis, where he had attended a 

christening banquet at the house of the Earl of Sea- 

fiocrth. This lament was composed by his sister, 

Janet. Among others, Mary Macleod composed a 

touching lament to his memory, and Patrick Mor 

MacCrimmon commemorated the sad event in the 

well-known piobaireachd, " John Garbh Macleod 

of Raasay 's Lament." 

LXV. 

y 

Marbhrann do Chaiptean MacCoinnich, Suidhe . 166 

Captain Mackenzie of Suddie, for whom this 

elegy was composed, commanded the regular troops 

in the Battle of Mulroy in 1688, fought between the 

Mackintoshes and the Macdonalds of Keppoch, 

when Coll " took the hill on them," and defeated 

Clan Chattan with great slaughter. Captain Mac- 

kenzie was killed in the engagement. The author 

of the elegy was Brian, the Bard of Assynt. This 

bard flourished in the second half of the 17th 

century, but as early as 1650 he composed a eulogy 

on John Mackenzie, known as " Iain Mollach," 

who succeeded his father in 1646. This " Oran /■ 

do dh' Fhear na Comraich," though not given here, ! 

is in our possession. The only other notice of Brian I 

we can find is in the satirical duel, or eisgeadh, 

between himself and John Lorn. The following 

verse by John Lorn, the mildest of them all, and 

omitted from the printed version, may here be 

given — 

' " Le mheud 's a fhuair mi bhagradh orm, 

Gu'n d' chum e raoir an cadal uam ; 

'S cha 'n ioghnadh mi 'bhi abartach, 

'S ann agam a tha choir." 

vice C^'*"'**"*'^ \^T)<)i.r^ l~tfk*"«.v,acti Wac.Ii»*ic««j' — ' 

m. CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

LXVI. 

Marbhrann do Dhuin' Uasal 159 

The author of this elegy is unknown. Though 

the internal evidence is somewhat indistinct, it 

appears to be a Mackenzie poem. h l^^-^lxL ^- - {JL'kMS^ 

LXVII. 1 ' 

Marbhrann do Dhuin' Uasal 162 

This is a fine old elegy, the author of which is 

unknown. 

LXVIII. 

CuMHA OiG Fhih, (fee. 165 

A lament by a young man whose betrothed died 

on their wedding day. The author is unknown. 

I.XIX. 

CuMHA DO DH' FhEAR NAN DrUIMNEAN . . 166 

This lament, the author of which is not known, 

was composed to Allan Maclean of Drimnin, who 

died unmarried in the first half of the 18th century. 

LXX. 

Marbhrann Fir Thalasgair 169 

This elegy was composed to Donald Macleod, 

3rd of Talasker. The author was John Maclean, 

known as Iain Mac Ailein, the well known Mull 

Bard, author of many songs, some of which ar« 

published in " The Maclean Bards." 

LXXI. 

CuMHA Peathau ....... 172 

This fugitive ballad is a lament for two brothers 

who had been drowned. 

CONTENTS. XXxi. 

PAGE 

LXXII. 

CuMHA DO Mhikisteab 174 

This is a lament by his sister for a minister who 

was drowned. A different song originally from the 

last, but in the course of tradition the two have 

become associated with one another. 

LXXIII. 

Cath Chuilodair 175 

This is a lament for Colonel Dugald Maclachlan, 

who fell on the fatal field of Culloden, by Lachlan 

Dubh Maclachlan. 

LXXIV. 

Oban do Mhacleoid Dhunbheagain .... 177 

The author of this fragment is unknown. On 

the authority of the old manuscripr f rom which it 

was copied, it was composed to " Mac Challuim 'ic 

Leoid Dhunbheagain." If this be so, it was com- 

posed to John Macleod, IV. of Dunvegan, who died 

in 1390. 

LXXV. 

Rann air Griogar Odhar Abd 178 

The author of these lines in praise of Gregor 

Macgregor is unknown. Gregor, who was reckoned 

a great warrior and one of the handsomest men of 

his day, was a son of Duncan of the Glens of 

Phanean, brother of Gregor Roy of Glenstrae, 

executed in 1570, and cousin of Alastair of Glen- 

strae, executed in 1603 for the affair of Glenfruin. 

Gregor Odhar himself took part in this fight. 

LXXVI. 

Gran do 'n Ridire Donnchadh Caimbeul . . 179 

The following note is given in the manuscript | 

from which these verses are taken : — 

" The above Duncan was called Donnchadh 

Dubh a' Churraic, but the Campbells call him 

1. CONTENTS. 

Donnchadh nan Caisteal — a false, deceitful man. 

The Castle of Taymouth was originally built by him, 

and he made great additions to the Castle of Caol- 

chuirn, in Glenorchy. He likewise built the Castle 

of Finlarig, Edinamble, and the Castle of Barcal- 

dine. He had a great many illegitimate children, 

and he never denied any woman that came to him 

with a child. One came with a large cat rolled up 

in flannel, a corner of which he lifted up to see the 

child, when he exclaimed : ' O 's goirrid a tha eadar 

a bheul 's a shron, 's olc am biatach a bhios ann, bi 

gu maith ris.' " 

Though the lady who composed these verses, 

which are but a fragment of the original song, is 

said in the manuscript to have been a daughter of 

Black Duncan, it appears from " The Black Book 

of Taymouth " that she was a daughter of Campbell 

of Glenlyon. Black Duncan, however, though not 

her father, had undoubtedly a hand in the death of 

her husband, Gregor Macgregor of Glenstrae. See 

the Tdladh at page 325. 

LXXVII. 

Oban le Bean Lusgintir 180 

Mrs Macleod of Luskinter, in Harris, was the 

daughter of Alexander Macleod of Luskinter, son of 

William Macleod of Bernera, and grandson of Sir 

Norman Macleod of Bernera. She married Dr 

William Macleod of Glendale, who practised his pro- 

fession in Harris, and was known there as " Fear 

Lusgintir," his wife having taken over the lease of 

the farm from her brother, Captain John Macleod. 

The " Gillean grinn " of the song were her sons, 

John, Bannatynej William, Donald, and Ewen, all 

of whom served in the Army. Mrs Macleod com- 

posed several good songs. 

V CUv' 

LXXVIII. 

Oban Molaidh do Dhomhnuill Macleoid . . 181 

The subject of this eulogy was Donald Macleod, 

Tacksman of Claggan, on the Macleod Estate, in 

Skye, afterwards of Kingsburgh, and finally of 

Coulmore, in Killearnan, where he died in 1877. 

In his day he was well known all over the High- 

lands, and there was no finer type of a Highland 

gentleman anywhere. Donald Macleod, the author 

of the song, was the well-known Domhnull nan 

Oran, the Skye Bard, who was born in Glendale in 

1787, and published a large collection of Gaelic songs 

in 1811. He died in 1873 

LXXIX. 

Oban Mhic Naoimhein 183 

Patrick Macpherson, the author of this song in 

the mock-heroic strain, was known as Padruig Mac- 

Dhomhnuill. He was born at Torlum, lived at 

lochdar for a while, was steamboat agent at Loch- 

carnan for some years, and died at Torlum in 1884, 

in the 84th year of his age. Patrick was a well- 

known rhymster and humorist in his day, and many 

of his witty sayings are current in Benbecula. Mac- 

niven, the hero of the song, was an emigration agent 

and a native of Isla. In this song Patrick takes the 

unusual course, emigration being always unpopular 

in the Islands, of praising the emigration agent as 

the provider of fertile lands across the sea. Not the 

least of Macniven's virtues, in his estimation, was 

that when others called for a bottle of strong 

beverage, Macniven was not content with less than 

a gallon at a time. 

LXXX. 

Oran Gaoil 185 

This love-song is evidently a more complete 

version of the song given at page 30 of this Collec- 

tion. 

nXlV. CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

LXXXI. 

Oran Gaoil 187 

The author of this song is unknown. The style 

is cultured, with a feeling for nature. 

LXXXII. 

Oran Gaoil 188 

This is a love-song between a man and his sweet- 

heart. The man addresses the woman after his 

death, and makes reference to her loveless marriage 

with another man. Her departed lover speaks from 

his coffin, telling how, on his coming to the end of 

his voyage, the news of her marriage wounded him 

to the death. She suitably replies. The idea is a 

weird one worked out with much poetic feeling. 

The author is unknown. 

LXXXIII. 

Oran Gaoil 190 

This fine lyric was composed by a woman to her 

sweetheart. 

LXXXIV. 

Am Buachaile Ban ^ 192 

The author of this song is unknown. Other ver- 

sions are in existence and have been set to music, 

but this is by far the fullest we have seen. 

LXXXV. 

Oran Gaoil le mnaoi uasail 193 

This pleasant little ditty was composed by Flora, 

daughter of Donald Macleod of Bernera, known as 

the " Old Trojan." She was always in delicate 

health, and never married. 

LXXXVI. 

Oran Gaoil ......•• 194 

A fugitive love-song, the object of th« compoi©r'» 

affections being a carpenter. 

CONTENTS. XXXV. 

PAGE 

LXXXVII. 

lOEEAM LE TE d'a LEANNAN 198 

A boat-song by a young woman to h«r eweet- 

heart on his marrying another.-*' 

LXXXVIII. 

Oran Gaoil 198 

A good specimen of a fugitive love-song, well 

known in Uist. 

LXXXIX. 

Oban a Mharaiche 200 

This is a song by a young woman, who discloses 

her name as Anne, to a seafaring man who had been 

unfaithful to her. It haa been popular for a long 

time in the Western Isles. 

XC. 

Oban Gaoil 202 

Here the tables are turned upon the softer sex, 

and female unfaithfulness is held up to scorn. The 

author contemplated a departure over sea, either to 

the gold-fields, or to wear the red coat. 

XCI. 

Oban Gaoil 304 

This is a love-song composed to a country maid 

who milked the cows, and wove the homespun cloth. 

It is sung to a beautiful air, and is popular in Uist. 

XCII. 

Oran Gaoil 205^ 

A love-song by a forsaken swain X^ d CL\/r^ Vw /Q {r\X^^ 

XCIII. 

Cruinneao na Buaile 307 

This is a love-song to a milkmaid, a favourite 

theme among the Highland bards, for whom the 

CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

cattle fold and the milkmaid had a special fascina- 

tion. The free, open, natural surroundings would 

stimulate the poetic fervour. 

XCIV. 

Oram Gaoil 209 

This is on the well-worn theme of unrequited 

love. The lady to whom the song was composed 

was a daughter of Maclean of Boreray, North Uist. 

xcv. 

Mo Chailinn Donn Og 211 

The author of this song in praise of the brown- 

haired maiden is unknown. Tt is a very fine song 

of its class, and is evidently .he composition of a 

man of education and culture. 

XCVI. 

Oran Gaoil 213 

The air to which this song is sung is very popular 

in many parts of the Highlands, but the version 

given here has never before been published. 

XCVII. 

Ioeram ......... 215 

This is a boat-song composed by a woman to her 

sweetheart. The prowess of their heroes in the 

hunting field was a frequent theme of eulogy, as 

here, among the fair wooers of the Muses. 

XCVIII. 

Oran Gaoil 217 

This is a song composed by a woman whose lover 

was enticed from her by another fair one, but who 

has now consoled herself with a new lover. 

XCTX. 

Oran Gaoil 218 

This love-song, which is of outstanding merit, 

was composed by Angus Shaw, author of the song 

given at page 117, to fair-haired Mar" Macleod. 

Oran lb Seoladair 220 

This song by a sailor is evidently a personification 

of tho ship " Catherine." 

CI. 

Oran a Bhata 221 

This is a boat-song composed to ' ' The Fair Lily ' ' 

and her seaworthy qualities. Seafaring men of 

poetic gifts often sang the praises of their craft sub 

forma feminae. 

CII. 

Oran Gaoil 222 

This is a spirited eulogy on the seaman-like 

qualities of a Macdonald from the Glengarry 

country. 

cm. 

Oran Gaoil ........ 223 

This is a love-song to a sailor^ named Alexander, 

who had evidently forsaken the authoress. 

CIV. 

Oran an t-Sealgair ....... 225 

This hunter-song, the author of which is un- 

known, is an excellent composition, tender in feeling 

and graceful in expression. The last verse is un- 

usually altruistic for a love-song. 

CV. 

Oran Luaidh 227 

This waulking-song was very popular at one time 

in Uist, and is an excellent specimen of this class of 

poetical compositions. 

XXXVni. CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CVI. 

A Spaidaireachd Bharrach ..... 330 

This waulking-song, or " The Barra Boastful- 

ness," as it is called, was composed impromptu by a 

Barra woman and a Uist woman as they sat at the 

waulking board. The waulking board was fre- 

quently the scene of disputation when a Parliament 

of women met. The Barra woman exults in the 

glories of the Macneills, while the Uist woman 

replies disdainfully by saying that Barra was given 

to them in charity by the Macdonalds when they 

were in distress. As matter of fact, Alexander, 

Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles, gave a charter of 

the lands of Barra to Gilleonan, the son of Roderick, 

the son of Murdoch Macneill, in 1427. It was 

either Alexander, or some other Macdonald of the 

Isles, who, on leaving Barra with his retinue, com- 

posed the following impi-ornptu lines: — 

" 'S mithich dhuinn a bhi triall 

A Barraidh chrion nach 'eil pailt, 

Tha na sligean ag innse sgeul 

Gu bheil Clann 'ic Neill nan aire ; 

Theirear Tighearna ri Mac Neill, 

Theirear iasg ris an iasg bheag ; 

Theirear nead ri seid a gheoidh, 

'S nead an fhiouan fheoir, ge beag." 

(^ 

U^VIIJ 

Oran Luaidh . \ -" 336 

This waulking-song is the comjiositiou of Nighean 

Aonghuis 'ic Dhomhnuill Bhain 'ic Dhomhnuill Oig, 

a near relative of Mac Iain 'ic Sheumuis, the hero 

of Carinish fight. She lived in the Sand district 

of North Uist. She was a bardess of note, and 

composed eulogies to Sir Dona.ld Gorm Macdonald 

of Sleat, to whom she refers as " Flath mor, 

meadhrach, Innsegall," and to Mac Iain 'ic 

SheumuisT The song given here was composed to 

some Macdonald of position, whose kinship with 

Clanranald, Mac Iain 'ic Sheumuis, and other Mac- 

donalds, is set forth. 

CONTENTS. 

CVIII. 

Oban Luaidh 

xxxix. 

PAGE 

238 

This is a very old wavJking-song. A favourite 

topic in these songs, which are usually the composi- 

tion of women, is giving the genealogy of the object 

of admiration, tracing it, as here, to Macdonald, 

Macleod, and Mackenzie. 

CIX. 

Oban Luaidh 

The composer of this waulking-song has a secret 

in her heart which the song fails to disclose. It ii 

composed to her lover who had left her for on© who 

had a larger tocher. 

ex. 

Oban Luaidh 

From internal evidence it appears that this song 

was composed about 1650. It is addressed at the 

outset to a lady of the Clanranald family. There are 

references to several of the clans, the favourite being 

the Clan Donald. The air is very hearty and 

pretty. 

CXI. 

Oban Luaidh 

This is a North Uist composition some 200 years 

old. Reference is made to the most prominent men 

in the parish at that time. We are unable to 

identify " Seumas na brataich," but the song ii 

evidently his wife's composition. 

CXII. 

Obak Luaidh 

This waulking-song is undoubtedly a very old 

composition, several versions of which w© have 

collected in the Western Isles. The air is common 

both to the Western Isles and to Ireland, but 

whether the song itself was originally Irish or Scotch 

cannot now be ascertained. The air found its way 

240 

243 

244 

246 

xl. 

PAGE 

to England in the 16th century, as appears from an 

English book of the year 1584. It also appears in 

a book variously called " The Fitzwilliam Virginal 

Book" and "Queen Elizabeth's Virginal Book." 

Shakespeare, in Henry V., in the dialogue between 

Pistol and a French soldier, neither of whom knew 

the language of the other, puts these words in the 

mouth of the former (according to one version) : 

" Calen o custure me." In an old manuscript in our 

possession reference is made to Shakespeare's 

acquaintance with Gaelic airs and his liking for 

them. It appears, indeed, as if the great Bard of 

Avon had a personal acquaintance with Highland- 

ers. Donald Gorm Macdonald of Sleat, Maclean of 

Duart, and others in the Highlands were in league 

with Queen Elizabeth against her brother of Scot- 

land. There was so much communication between 

the English court and the Highlands as to make it 

highly probable that Shakespeare came into contact 

with Gaelic-speaking Highlanders in London. It ia 

highly improbable that any Highlanders followed in 

the train of the Scottish Solomon himself when he 

went to reign in England. In " The Merry Wives 

of Windsor ' ' the English put into the mouth of the 

Welsh parson, Evans, is identical with that spoken 

now by the ordinarily educated Highlander. It is 

interesting to find the title of a Gaelic song trans- 

planted into the very heart of English literary cul- 

ture more than 300 years ago. 

CXIII. 

Oran Luaidh 348 

This is a quaint old waulking-song, probably an 

Eigg composition. The measure is unusual, one 

short line and then the refrain repeated by all the 

women. The composer descants on her lover's 

promises, and contemplates a quick passage across 

" the melancholy main." It was probably the evolu- 

tion of a scheme of elopement. 

CONTENTS. xli. 

PAGE 

CXIV. 

Oran Luaidh 249 

The authoress of this song begins by eulogising 

Macleod of Harris, but immediately changes her 

mind and repeats the sentiment in favour of Clan- 

ranald, who had given free lands to her graiidsire. 

Her behaviour towards him was better than that of 

another maid whom she vituperates by maligning 

some remote ancestor or totem — Siol na hruide. 

This maid answers, and accuses her antagonist of 

witchcraft. The references to Donald Gorm and 

Ranald of Benbecula fix the time of composition 

about 300 years ago. 

cxv. 

Oran Luaidh 253 

In this song a Barra woman, a partisan of the 

Macneills, bestows in imagination the Clan Donald 

patrimony on the Macneills, with a Castle on every 

knoll in Ireland. The Macneills seem to be in 

chronic distress, and are now as they appear in the 

lines by the Lord of the Isles already quoted. 

CXVI. 

Oban Luaidh 254 

This song is by a Harris woman, who dilates on 

the sumptuousness of her upbringing. She wishes 

fair weather for the hirlin7i, and curses another 

woman of whom she is jealous. She praises the 

Chiefs of the Isles, and bestows extra praise upon 

Clanranald, evidently Allan of the '15. 

CXVII. 

This song opens in praise of John Campbell of 

Scalpa, Harris, and winds up with the Macneills 

on the " ocean wave," no doubt on creach intent. 

The Macneills of old were notorious pirates, who 

carried their depredations to every creek in the 

Western Isles, and were a source of terror to their 

neighbours. 

258 

Xlii. CONTENTS. 

i PAGE 

CXVIII. 

Oran Luaidh 361 

This domestic episode in verse, though appar- 

ently old, fails somehow to excite interest. 

CXIX. 

Oran Luaidh ........ 263 

This song is the composition of a woman in 

praise of the ship in which her seafaring lover, 

Roderick, sailed. 

cxx. r 

Oran Luaidh 266 

This song, in praise of an Alexander Nicolson, 

is probably a Skye composition. 

CXXI. 

Oran Luaidh 266 

This is a lament for au absent lover, who had 

evidently emigrated to America. The young maid 

refuses to be wooed by another, in the hope of his 

return. 

CXXII. 

Oran Luaidh 268 

This is a lament by a fair one for her lover, who, 

though lost to sight, is still to memory dear. The 

handsome youth in his Highland dress has left 

behind him an indelible impression. 

CXXIII. 

Oban Luaidh 370 

The composer of this song is a woman alone on an 

island with two children who in imagination haa 

been entertaining quite a host of Highland chiefs — 

Mackenzie, Macleod, Glengarry, Mackinnon, and 

Clanranald. 

OOKTENTS. Xliii. 

PAGE 

CXXIV. 

Oran Luaidh 272 

This song, which is sung tx) a beautiful air, was 

heard in her sleep by a woman in Boreray, North 

Uist, who had lost her daughter, a young and 

beautiful girl. When she awoke in the morning she 

sang the song. 

cxxv. 

Oran Luaidh 273 

The young man who composed this song, which 

is evidently old, lost his "round brown maid" for 

want of worldly gear which, it seems, attracted her 

elsewhere. 

CXXVI. 

Oran Luaidh 276 

The hero of this song, which is from an old 

manuscript, is the redoubtable Colla Ciotach Mac- 

donald of Colonsay. Coll, after his escape from the 

Castle of Dunnyveg early in 1615, found his way to 

the Western Isles, accompanied by various clansment 

of the Isla dispersion. A contemporary manuscript t 

gives a lively and detailed account of Coil's wander- 

ings through the Isles, including St Kilda. During 

his sojourn in the lonely isle, he appears in the 

anomalous role of arbiter in an ecclesiastical dispute. 

The people of St Kilda were divided over the ques- 

tion of paying ecclesiastical dues, demanded by an 

individual who had taken upon himself to discharge 

certain ministerial duties among them. One section 

of the community refused to pay on the ground that 

the man was unqualified, he being unable to repeat 

the paternoster. The matter in dispute was sub- 

mitted to the judgment of Colla Ciotach, who with 

great gravity decided in favour of the impostor, 

declaring that in the whole course of his life he 

had never heard of a clergyman deposed for being 

unacquainted with the Lord's Prayer. In North 

Uist, Colla and his companions held high revelry 

Xliv. CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

among their kinsmen of Clan Donald. It was on 

this occasion the song was composed by Mor Nighean 

Uisdeau, sister of John Macdouald of Griminish. 

CXXVII. 

Mor Nighean a Ghiobarlain 278 

Marion, the daughter of the Gaberlunzie, which 

is the title of this broadly humorous song, appears 

from internal evidence to be a composition of about 

the year 1650. It was very popular at one time in 

Uist, and used to be sung to a fine air. The heroine 

of the satire, unless she is much maligned, was a 

lady of easy virtue, and the description of her dress, 

style of hair, and other characteristics, is serio-comic 

throughout. It has probably received accretions 

dui'ing the centuries. Some verses have been 

omitted. 

CXXVIII. 

Air Call a Chkuinn-ciuil ^ . . . . . 281 

Roderick Morrison, the Blind Harper, author of 

this song, was the son of John Morrison of Bragar, 

in Lewis, who is said to have had " Ladies' modesty, 

Bishops' gravity. Lawyers' eloquence, and Captains' 

conduct." Roderick was intended for one of the 

learned professions, but while attending school at 

Inverness he had an attack of smallpox, which 

deprived him of his sight, in consequence of which 

he turned his attention to music and poetry, and 

studied under masters both in Ireland and in Scot- 

land. His fame as a harper secured him the 

appointment of bard and harper to that patron of 

Gaelic institutions, John Breac Macleod of Dun- 

vegan, whose elegy he afterwards composed. It was 

at Dunvegan he composed the song given here, and 

published for the first time. Sitting by the kitchen 

fire he dropped the key of his harp in the ashes, 

which Le was raking with his fingers, when Mrs 

Macleod coming in, enquired of one of the maids 

what it was that Rorie had lost. " Chaill e 

'chrann," she answered. Rory at once took up the 

word " crann," and giving it a forced meaning, com- 

X ^.^^_ Hc^cL Coir LAM<.ht/^^ ij^ij 

CONTENTS. Xlv. 

PARE 

posed his song, which is very clever and humorous. 

A boat "manned" by women, evidently of some 

notoriety, their names being given, was despatched 

across the Minch to Barra in search of a harp key 

for the blind minstrel. The arrival of the Dun- 

vegan crew in Barra caused no little excitement 

among the women of the island. The denouement 

need not be particularised. Rory Morrison, who 

was famous as a harper and poet all over the 

country, died an old man, and was buried at Aoidh, 

in the modern parish of Knock, in Lewis. 

CXXIX. 

Rannan Breige 284 

This song — verses without truth — was composed 

by a young woman on her being promised a pardon 

for her brother who lay in prison under sentence of 

death, if next morning she could sing a song without 

a word of truth in it. According to one account, 

she saved her brother's life, but according to another 

the one word of truth, "A chuthag is gug-giig 

aice " marred the efficacy of the song. 

cxxx. 

Seann Oran Leoeiiasach ...... 285 

The main interest of this old Lewis rhyme is in 

the reference mad© to an ancient method of 

manuring the land. One stalked through the field 

carrying a creel of ashes on his back, and another 

followed beating it with a stick and scattering the 

ashes for the benefit of the soil. 

CXXXI. 

HoRO bhodachain horo ...... 286 

This is a humorous satire composed by a young 

wife to a greedy and miserly old man. He needed 

a whole bull's hide for a pair of shoes and a peck 

of meal for a diet. 

X 

Xlvi. CONTENTS. 

PiaB 

CXXXII. 

BoDACHAN A Gharaidh 288 

This humorous North Uist rhyme has been often 

in other years used as a dance tune, in the absence 

of a musical instrument. The little old man, the 

hero of the rhyme, flourished in the township of 

Tigheary. 

CXXXIII. 

Oran DO DHROCH Bhailiuh ^"Hf^ ^ } ,i ■ 289 

This savage lampoon on an oppressiw factor {^^<^***- ^"t^-^^cy 

reflects the mental attitude of the community 

towards him. It has been added to in different 

localities, but the original factor is believed to have 

been on the Ardnamurchan estate. It may have 

been at his grave the following lines were recited : — 

" Cuiribh air, cuiribh air, 

'S e esan a chuireadh oirnne, 

'S ma dh' eireas e rithis 

Cuiridh e 'n corr oirnn." 

CXXXIV. 

Oran nan Tailleirean 290 

This is a satire on the North Uist tailors by 

John MacCodrum. His attentions were thus 

engaged by the sartorial fraternity while he lived 

1 at Airidh a' Phuill, in EvaL His satire on the 

tailors led to his appointment as Bard to Sir James 

Macdonald, the proprietor of North Uist. The 

amiable and accomplished Sir James, on the occasion 

of his first visit to North Uist after his coming of 

age, met the Bard literally in rags, and was greatly 

Bhocked to see him in such a condition. The Bard 

had no hesitation in telling the Chief the cause of 

his appearing before him in such tattered garments, 

and Sir James desired him to repeat the verses 

which had so roused the ire of the knights of the 

needle. The Chief was highly delighted and amused, 

and he there and then appointed MutCodrum his 

Bard. 

CONTENTS. 

ilvii. 

X 

cxxxv. 

DiMOLADH PioB Dhomhnuill Bhain .... 292 

^Several versions of this inimitable satire on the 

bagpipe have already appeared, but in every case 

the text has been more or less corrupt. It seemed 

desirable that a pure text should be published, 

though the poem has long been known to all 

students of Gaelic Literature. Donald Bain, who 

was a Macaulay from Paible, North Uist, was a 

local piper of evidently no great repute as a per- 

former on the great Highland instrument. Even 

his tuning, as he sat on the kiln rostrum, left much 

to be desired. 

CXXXVI. 

Leine Lachdunn Ruairidh Ruaidh .... 297 

The wedding shirt of Red Rory is of a somewhat 

sombre hue, and had passed through many phases 

previous to his possession of it. It was used as a rag 

to wipe off sweat in the ball-room, a duster for the 

tavern table, and other purposes of an unedifying 

description. It concludes with a pithy speculation 

on the philosophy of heredity. The author is un- 

known. The air is that of a well known pipe tune. 

CXXXVII. 

Okan an Tailleir 298 

This song is in the form of a dialogue between 

the bard's wife and a tailor. Tailors in the High- 

lands used to itinerate, and were wont to feed on 

the best fare wherever they went. In this case the 

tailor's fare consisted of soft, watery potatoes, 

according to his own account of it. The good wife 

naturally resented the reflection on her housekeep- 

ing. The author of the song was Donald Maclean, 

a North Uist poet of repute, known as Domhnull 

Ban na Camairt. He was bom about 1760. His 

father, Ewen, was gamekeeper to Sir James Mac- 

donald, and lived at Ardmaddy. In this situation 

xlviii. 

he was succeeded by the bard, who in his turn was 

Bucceeded by his son, Allan. Donald composed a 

number of songs, all of which are in a humorous 

strain and of considerable merit. ' ' Oran na . 

Camairt " may be put in the first class of its kind. 

" Oran an Duinghaiaeachadh " is said to have been 

his first attempt at versifying, and was composed on 

the occasion of his seeing his future wife for the 

first time — 

" Thug i suil orm air a fiaradh 

'S b' e sud a cheud uair a ghabh i 'n dbchas." 

She was a daughter of Ewen MacEachen, Dun- 

ganachadh, Benbecula, patronymically known as 

Eobhan Mac Iain Bhain. Donald was very ready- 

witted — geur-fhaclach. An instance of his gearradh- 

cainnte may be given. He and another worthy and 

brother bard — an Dall Mor — foregathered on rent- 

day, presided over by Captain Allan Cameron, the 

factor. When Donald came into the room he 

noticed the blind bard— known as "A' Muilleach," 

and said: " Tha sibh ann, Muillich." Fhreagair 

an Dall, " Ma's a Muilleach 's buileach." " Ma '3 

a buileach 's breac," arsa Domhnull. " Ma '3 a 

breac, 's breac geal," ars' an Dall. " 'S ann mar 

sin," ars' a Domhnull, " is fearr leis a Bhailidh 

Mhor thu, 's bi thu aige air a dhinneir." It was 

on this occasion, Donald being in arrears of rent, 

the factor said to him : " Now, Donald, if you put 

every creature you possess in one verse the arrears 

will be remitted. Donald at once rose to the occa- 

sion, and replied : — 

" 'S mi fhin an Dara Domhnull, 

Agus Domhnull-a-chinn-bhain, 

Tha bean , tha leanabh beag agam, 

Pat is Mairoad Bhan ; 

B6-dhonn, bo-chrom, is do-bhliadhnach, 

Lothag 6g, is lair; 

Sin iad air an cunntas 

Leio an i ad' air an t-Sromban." 

® Mc><ro. 

^ ^ WA#euO££5X .^03 

CONTENTS. Xlix. 

PAGK 

CXXXVIII. 

Oban Loieaig 299 

This song is also by Donald Maclean. Loirag 

was a wild wandering woman who bore this descrip- 

tive nickname. The bard, on his way to a Christmas 

entertainment, met her in a lonely place. The 

verses are descriptive of his mental perturbation. 

CXXXIX. 

Oran na Ba 300 

The author of this humorous sonjwas Angus 

Campbell, known patronymically as Aonghus Mac 

Dhomhnuill 'ic Eobhain, and sometimes as Am 

Bard Sgallach. He was a native of Benbecula, and 

lived and died at Aird there in 1843. He com- 

posed several songs, four of which are given in this 

Collection, and was undoubtedly a good bard. 

The cow of the song was a marf-lamhaig for 

winter consumption, purchased from Patrick Nicol- 

son, Torlum, factor for Clanranald. The bard 

describes in a humorous vein the lean condition of 

the quadruped, evidently in no better condition 

than the lean kine of Pharaoh's dream. There are 

several words in this song which are not commonly 

used now. 

CXL. 

Iain Mac 'ic Fhionrhainn 301 

This highly humorous song in the mock-heroic 

strain was composed by John Macraillan, known 

patronymically as Iain Mac Uisdean 'ic Dhonn- 

chaidh, who lived at Lineclate, Benbecula, and 

emigrated to America about 1850. John Mac- 

kinnon, son of Neil Mackinnon, the hero of the 

song, who was a half-witted clumsy creature, 

attended a local dance, where he presented, it 

seems, a very ludicrous appearance. Macmillan, 

who had a keen sense of humour, was present, and 

watched the awkward movements of the dancer. In 

the song he gives his hero credit for every virtue and 

good quality which he emphatically did not possess. 

1, CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CXLI. 

Oran nan Coilleach 303 

*'**Tr*'' ^ i Angus Macpherson, known patronymically as 

S' r •^A*'*^*'^**^ *■ Aonghus Og Mac Aonghuis 'ic Dhomhnuill 'ic Iain, 6^ 

ijl^4^J^ p,**^ >v**v *^»*--v» lived at Griminish Moor, Benbecula, and died thei-e 

i^^ • , ^ ' ,vv»i».«»'«^-'-^*- — about 1843. He composed several other songs 

^Jj,^Ji.,^LJL «-» 'j^<*i-r-.-w besides those given here, all of which are meritor- 

^^^ ^a^ .Civ^ew. Cl^ '♦^ ious. It is seldom, if ever, that a rooster received 

^^„^^ ' c^JL j„v*wi.»ttiB.UX such justice as Macpherson's, which was a gift from 

p^tlL^u^^ -i^--^ a friend. • y >/ 

Oran na Cliath-luaidh 306 

This song of the waulking board is by the same 

author. Angus Ban was in deep depression because 

the waulking board was lost, and though he had a 

web of cloth ready it could not be fulled. The 

board was to be taken by boat to another island, but 

when Galium went to the rock to which the boat 

was fastened no trace of it could be found. Their 

adventures form the subject of the song. 

CXLIII. 

AoiR Iagain 310 

This stinging satire was composed by the 

" Piobaire Mor," a Lochaber man who emigrated to 

Canada many years ago. The individual satirized 

was the Rev. John Maclennan, Episcopal Minister 

at Fort-William, some 60 or 70 years since. He 

was locally known as " lagan Beag a Chotain 

Bhain," and was evidently an epicure. The satirist 

describes in humorous if somewhat scurrilous lan- 

guage how the diminutive Episcopalian, who may or 

may not have been an advanced ritualist, vigorously 

feasted on the monster sea-devil, notwithstanding 

its "high" condition. This sea monster (Mac 

Lathaich) had been cast ashore and lain there for 

some time. The minister who lived at Achintore 

(famous as the bleaching green of the slain Camp- 

bells at Inverlochy in 1645) would not allow the 

piper and a party of roadmen to boil their porridge 

pot in his kitchen, and he got the satire for his 

churlishness. 

(^ P, ^^'^ f/i? 

CXLIV. 

Oram an t-Saoir 313 

Angus Macpherson, the author of this Bong, 

known as Aonghus MacChalluim 'ic Iain, was an 

itinerant boatbuilder. He was born at Aird-an- 

eoin, near Creagony, Benbecula, lived for some time 

in Barra, where he married, and died at Carnan- 

an-Iochdair about 1863. The song, which possesses 

great merit, was composed when the bard was laid 

aside by illness and afflicted temporarily with loss of 

eyesight. Angus, who was of a convivial disposi- 

tion, dearly loved a dram, for which the South Uist 

priests, Fathers James Macgregor of lochdar and 

John Chisholm of Bornish, often brought him to 

taskCP Angus, though a good Catholic, resented the 

admonitions of these good men, and by way of show- ^ ^0 

ing his resentment, eulogises Mr Colin Macdonald, 

the Priest of Barra, who was himself a bard of some 

repute. 

A*ij»>wv» 

CXLV. 

Oram na Mnatha 314 

This amusing song by the same author is in the 

form of a dialogue between himself and his wife, 

who threatens to leave him on account of his con- 

vivial tendencies. She does not condemn modera- 

tion, and asserts her right to a more liberal allow- 

ance of tea. 

CXLVI. 

Oram a Bhata do 'm b' ainm " Struileag " . . . 316 

This boat-song is by the same author. " Struil- 

eag" was an imaginary boat which was sent from 

one person to another accompanied by a rhyme. It 

could not be passed on to the next person without 

the rhyme. 

CXLVII. 

Marbhrann Nighean Domhnuill Oig 'ic Igain . .318 

This very amusing but rancorous mock-elegy was 

composed by a man Maclsaac from Lochboisdale, 

South Uist, while in service at Lochmaddy. His 

" leannan-baird" and pet aversion was Mary Mac- 

Kegan, a North Uist woman, at whom he had lev- 

elled several libellous shafts. Her personal appear- 

ance is reflected in the couplet : — 

" O dith bidh air Nighean Domhnuill Oig 'ic 

Igain, 

Tha amhaich fhada righinn air a chorra 

ghridhich ghrannda." 

"The tongue can no man tame": not Maclsaac's 

evidently, as long as Mary Mackegan is near him, 

and at last he had to answer for it before the 

Sheriff. Defamation of character is a serious offence 

in the estimation of the law, and the following verse 

was nothing if not defamatory : — 

" Bhiodh tu far am biodh an ti, 

Phliteag nam boirionnach ; 

Bhiodh an ailis air do dhruim, 

Gru 'm biodh tu ri meirle." 

In this elegy the place of her sepulture was a church- 

yard dedicated to St Comgan, at MacCodrum's birth- 

place, not far from the old parish church of North 

Uist, where, according to the bard, Mary lay in a 

somewhat unedifying postui^ alongside a Norse 

King, with no " storied urn, or animated bust." 

CXLVIII. 

Oban Aonghuis Ruaidh 320 

Angus Roy Robeiiisoin, the hero of these witty 

▼erses, was a servant at Cunambuntag, Beubecula, 

in the sixties of last century. Angus, who was 

known as " Aonghus Ruadh Olibheir," was a North 

Uist man, and near relative of Edward Burke, the 

well-known body servant of Prince Chai-les. It was 

the time of Yule, and the weather was frosty. 

Angus was sent on a mission to provide the usual 

aids to the season's festivities, and as his return 

was delayed, the young men of Cunambuntag, 

assisted by a neighbour, Duncan MacLellan, strung 

their lyre, and this amusing ditty resulted. There 

were grave fears about Angus's fate, and a search 

party must be organised. As was wont when a great 

,t 

A ^ CUi»CwX^^ 

CONTENTS. liii. 

PAGE 

man died, his meteoi- was seen two days previously, 

and " the touch of a vanished hand" would be no 

longer heard on his fiddle. The hero's obsequies 

would be duly solemnised. " Bean Thormoid Oig," 

whose gifts of speech were known, would express the 

general sorrow, and the jar which was destined for 

other purposes would be done ample justice to by 

the convivial " Eoghainn Maor." 

CXLIX. 

Oran nan Eirionnach an Glascho . . . .321 

This humorous and really clever satire on the 

Glasgow Irishmen was composed by Alexander Mor- 

rison in 1874, when he lived in Govan, where he 

was employed as a mason. He now resides at 

Rucaidh, in North Uist, his native place, where he 

keeps a shop, but unfortunately does not cultivate 

the muses. He has not composed anything for 

many years, we believe from religious scruples, but 

had he chosen to exercise his undoubted poetical 

gifts he would have earned no mean reputation. 

CL. 

Blar Hogh 323 

This humorous song — the battle of Howmore — 

was composed some 20 years ago by the Rev. Rod- 

erick Macdonald, minister of South Uist, on a blood- 

less and amusing scuffle that took place among the 

members of the Parochial Board, named here 

" Cixirt nan Cailleachan," over the medical officer 

of the parish. The incident occurred in the vestry 

of the Parish Chuich, where the meetings were 

held. Local knowledge is needed to fully appreciate 

the various allusions. 

CLI. 

Taladh 325 

An inferior version of this lullaby appeared in 

Turner's Collection in 1813, and has since been 

copied by several others. The version given here, 

which is incomplete, was obtained in Uist. The 

liv. CONTENTS. 

hill a by was composed by a daughter of Duncan 

Campbell of Glenlyon, known as Donnchadh Euadh 

na Feile, on the death of her husband, Gregor Roy 

Macgregor of Glenstrae. She was the mother of 

Alastair of Glenstrae, who also had a tragic end, 

and of John Dubh, the baby of the lullaby. The 

tradition in Glenlyon, which no doubt is substanti- 

ally correct, is that she fell in love with Gregor Roy, 

who was a handsome man, and married him against 

her father's wish. After living in concealment for 

some time, the couple were tracked and carried to 

Bealloch, where Gregor was beheaded in presence of 

his wife. Gregor had not only incurred the wrath 

of Campbell of Glenlyon, but there had been besides 

a long-standing feud between him and Cailein Liath 

of Glenorchy and Black Duncan, his son. At 

length, at their instigation, Gregor was tried by 

order of the Privy Council, under the presidency of 

•the Earl of Atholl, and beheaded at Bealloch in 

1570. The following entry appears in " The 

Chronicle of Fortingall " : — " The vij da of Apryll 

Gregor M'Gregor of Glenstra heddyt at Belloch 

anno sexte an ten yeiris." 

CLII. 

Taladh 326 

This oran ionndrainn is by a mother for her lost 

child, who had been spirited away by the fairies. 

From the simplicity and directness of the style, the 

song appears to be very old. As late as the com- 

mencement of the 19th century, the practice pre- 

vailed in the Long Island of lulling old people to 

sleep with Fingalian songs and tales. A woman 

died in South Uist not many years ago whose 

principal occupation in the family where she served 

was to perform this duty night after night for an 

old lady, the widow of the Rev. George Munro, 

minister of that parish. 

CONTENTS. Iv. 

PAGE 

CLIII. 

Taladh 328 

This lullaby is evidently by a Skyeman lament- 

ing the death of his wife, whose child he lulls to 

sleep. 

CLIV. 

LuiNNEAG Bleoghain na Banachaig .... 329 

This beautiful milking song, which has an old- 

world ring, was composed by a poor widow, whose 

only daughter had been spirited away by the fairies. 

The mother had sent the daughter with the cow to 

the hill. While resting on what turned out to be 

a fairy knoll (sithein), a door opened, and she was 

taken in and never seen again. This Luinneag 

begins with an address of eulogy to the cow, referred 

to as " an Druimfhinn uasal," to induce her to give 

her milk. Milking songs have been in vogue from 

time immemorial, and many cows accustomed to the 

song will not give their milk without it. 

CLV. 

Oran Sithe 331 

This fragment of a fairy song is the composition 

of a young woman of many personal attractions, who 

was observed to waste away without any cause for 

which her friends could account; nor could she be 

persuaded to disclose to her parents the cause of 

her decline. At length she disclosed the secret to 

her sister, on condition of the most solemn promise 

being given that she would not divulge it. She 

was in love with a fairy whom she met occasionally 

by appointment, and the cause of her decline was 

the sense of extreme loneliness and dreary longing 

she felt during the intervals of their meetings. The 

sister, notwithstanding her vow of secrecy, dis- 

closed the whole to her father and three brothers, 

who forthwith took horses and rode to the trysting 

place of the lovers, and killed the fairy. The young 

woman died soon after. 

Ivi. 

CONTENTS. 

CLVI. 

Na tri Eoin Chruinne-ghealla Dhonn 332 

The three birds were the three children of a first 

wife, and the second was a typical stepmother. The 

verses illustrate in a series of epigrammatic lines a 

contradictory wife at cross purposes with her hus- 

band, he pulling one way and she another. It is 

really a satire on womankind. 

CLVII. 

Oran na Brath 334 

This is the second quem-song in the Collection. 

Grinding with the quern was in early times a species 

of servile labour, it being certainly hard work, and 

this quaint and very remarkable poem is probably 

a reminiscence of old servile conditions. It is sug- 

geetive of the Icelandic song of the Quern Grotte, 

in which three giantesses grind for King Frodi. 

Here a variety of inducements are held out to the 

bondmaid or " cailleach," the quern-cake with the 

dairymaid's milk being offered as guerdon. Her 

employer even offered her the goodman of the house, 

but the quern-maid was sceptical as to the sincerity 

of this far too generous offer. The inducement that 

prevailed was the announcement of a man coming 

to seek for her, thus effecting her deliverance from 

bondage, whereupon the quern began to move with 

marvellous velocity, the worker uttering words of 

delirious ecstasy. This song is altogether a unique 

illustration of the old life of the people. 

CLVIII. 

CUMHA Mhic-an-Toi8ich 336 

We have given this composition the name by 

which it is best known, but in the Western Isles, 

where the version given here was obtained, it is 

y called " Cumha Mhic a Arisaig," or " Bealach a 

Gharaidh." Our version seems to have no connec- 

CONTENTS. Ivii. 

Hk4^ PAGE 

tion with the air given in CampbeH's Anthology , 

and one or two other publications. The very name 

of the hero of the Lament is against the assertion 

that he was a Mackintosh chief. Eoghann Og was 

not the name of any of the chiefs of that family. 

The title, " Cumha Mhic a Arisaig," would seem to 

identify him with the Clanranald country. Evi- 

dently two compositions originally distinct, but 

bearing a resemblance to one another, have been 

amalgamated and now form one song. There are 

several traditions, differing very materially, in 

regard to its Mackintosh origin. The present 

Mackintosh believes it to have been composed by 

the family bard, Maclntyre, in the year 1550, on 

the death of William, who was murdered by the 

Countess of Huntly that year. 

CLIX. 

Rannan do Mhnaoi uasail ...... 339 

The author of these lines was John Carswell, 

Bishop of the Isles. Carswell was born about 1520 

at Carnsary, in the parish of Kilmartin, Argyllshire, 

of which parish he afterwards became Rector, as 

well as chaplain to the Earl of Argyll. In 1560 he 

became Superintendent of Argyll and the Isles. In 

1566 he became Bishop of the Isles, and died in 

1572. His name is perpetuated in the literature of 

the Highlands by his translation into Gaelic of 

Knox's liturgy in 1567. There is a Gaelic hymn 

and a few fragments of his other poetical composi- 

tions still remaining. In his zeal for the spread of 

the Reform doctrines he adopted an inimical atti- 

tude to the old Gaelic culture. The lines given here 

are by no means laudatory, but intended to 

counteract the vanity of birth, beauty, and accom- 

plishments by an antidote such as another poet 

administered to Lady Clara Vere de Vere. 

Iviii. CONTENTS. 

FAQB 

CLX. 

BlODH AN DEOCHS' AIR LAIMH MO RUIN .... 340 

This health-song is evidently a Skye composition 

of the time of Sir Donald Macdonald of Sleat, who 

died in 1643. It has been sometimes tung as a 

waulking-song. 

CLXI. 

Oran MuLAiD A Phriosanaich AN Dun-Raonuill . 342 

This dirge of the prisoner at Dunranald, in S^uth 

Uist, was composed by Brian MacVurich; He was 

an illegitimate son of one of the MacVurich bards. 

MacVurich, while studying in Ireland, added this 

child to the population of the Emerald Isle. Brian, 

who was a seafaring man, came on one occasion to 

South Uist, and " lifted " cows belonging to Clan- 

ranald, for which he was apprehended and put in 

irons — piollaid — at Duu-Raonuill, a stronghold of 

the Clanranald family. It was during his incarcera- 

tion there he composed the song, on hearing which 

the Bard MacVurich acknowledged him as his son. 

CLXII. 

Uaigh Mhic Callduinn ..... 344 

This is a song of longing, a not uncommon type 

of love-song, and, like others originating in the 

Western Isles, abounds in boating references. 

CLXIII. 

An Eucag 345 

This is a love-song of irregular measure, in which 

the praises of a maiden are set forth with all her 

good qualities and virtues. 

CLXIV. 

Oran mu 'n Uisge-bheatha ..... 346 

This ode to whisky, which is, unfortunately, not 

quite complete, is supposed to be the composition of 

Mac-a-Lighiche, the Skye Bard. John Barley- 

CONTENTS. liX. 

PAGE 

corn, with proper pride of descent, sings his own 

praises, and sets forth with much emphasis the great 

influence which he has exercised over a wide field 

since he came out of " bond " in his native Ferin- 

tosh. 

CLXV. 

Oran mu 'n Eideadh Ghaidhealach .... 348 

Hanoverian discipline in the Highlands after the 

'45 was nothing if not thorough. The Ten Com- 

mandments were suspended with the Habeas-Corpus 

Act. The Disarming Act of 1746 among other 

things prohibited the wearing of the Highland dress 

under pains and penalties. A more cowardly and 

absurd piece of legislation was never passed by a 

panic-stricken Government. It roused the Highland 

bards to a high pitch of angry denunciation, and 

such bards as John MacCodrum denounced it and 

its authors in the most scathing terms. For years 

those clansmen who persisted in defying the Act and 

wearing the only garb they possessed, or go naked, 

were hunted by the redcoats like partridges upon 

the mountains, and pursued with the persistency of 

the Eumenides on the trail of Orestes. The reports 

given in by the captains of the different Highland 

posts are in many cases ludicrously humorous. One 

man chased and caught in the act excused himself 

by saying that he wore only ' ' dyed blanket. ' ' Two 

men, one wearing trousers and the other a kilt, were 

pursued by the redcoats into a hut, but the men had 

time to strip themselves before their pursuers * 

entered the hut, and the pursuers afterwards could 

not swear which of them wore the kilt. Others were 

not so fortunate, and the country jails were filled to 

their utmost capacity with men wearing the tartan. 

Mrs Stevenson, the authoress of the song given 

here, was Margaret Campbell,^ wife of the Rev. 

James Stevenson, minister of Ardnamurchan from 

1703 to 1732, and of Ardchattan from 1732 to 1751, 

She died in 1775. 

IX. CONTENTS. 

PAQK 

CLXVI. 

Oran an t-Saighdeir 350 

This song of the soldier is a fugitive ballad added 

to in many districts. It was originally composed by 

a young man who had enlisted in the Army. 

Apparently a native of Glenorchy, he bids farewell 

to the land of deer and trout, and above all of fair 

maidens, whose disapproval he had won by donning 

the soldier's uniform. 

CLXVII. 

Oran na Banntraich ....... 351 

This song of the widow was composed by a woman 

who had seen her husband, father, and three 

brothers drowned by the swamping of a boat. The 

husband, who was a Barra man, was buried at 

Trinity Temple, Carinish, a religious establishment 

founded and maintained by the Family of the Isles. 

353 

CLXVIII. 

\^ Failte do 'n Chleir 

This salutation, or welcom.e, to the Presbytery of 

Uist was repeated by John MacCodrum on the occa- 

sion of the admission of the Rev. Allan Macqueen 

as minister of North Uist at Kilmuir, on the 28th 

September, 1770. The gathering of the clergy was 

followed by the proverbial bad weather, for which 

the Bard makes an apology, and invokes the divine 

blessing. Living many miles away, he is obliged, 

with evident reluctance, to take his departure with- 

out sharing the festivities of the day. 

CLXIX. 

^ Rann air Bas Neill Mhic Ghilleathainn . 354 

Neil Maclean, Kersiva, Lochmaddy, was factor 

for Lord Macdonald in North Uist, and a man of 

note in his day. He was of the Macleans of Boreray, 

and died in 1769. The eulogium passed on him in 

this epitaph by John MacCodrum is no more than 

he deserved. 

CONTtTNTS. Ixi. 

PAGE 

CLXX. 

Oram DiMOLAiDH do " Ruddle " Airdnamurchan 356 

This soug, composed about the middle of the 18th 

century, by an unknown author, in dispraise of a 

laird of Ardnamurchan, proves that the land ques- 

tion is not a new one. The bard rises early and 

hears the mavis, but his thoughts come back to hie 

hard lot, labouring an unproductive soil and three 

years' rent to pay. He regrets the disappearance of 

the old chiefs, and resents being robbed by a 

nobody. 

CLXXI. 

A Challuinn 356 

This song was originally the composition of Mrs 

Macleod, Luskintyre, but has been added to else- 

where. It is a lively song, and has been much in 

voEfue on festive occasions in the Isles. 

CLXXII. 

Oran nan Calluinnean ...... 358 

This Hogmanay song by Angus Og Macpherson™ 

is an apology for his larder, many having haled the 

bard with a duan on bannock night, and he had none 

to give them. Times were hard in Benbecula and 

crops were poor, which sufficiently accounts for the 

res angusta domi. Whoever is to blame is referred 

to the Day of Judgment. 

CLXXIII. 

Oran Bainnse ........ 360 

This soug was composed by Donald Maclean, 

Camart. It is a complaint of not having been 

invited to a wedding. He called, however, at the 

house when the feast was being prepared, and got 

a dram and a whole duck from the hostess as a 

tolatium. 

® f • ^ "^S^ ' 

Ixii. CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CLXXIV. 

Catlin Donn a Chuailein Reidh ..... 362 

This is a vagabond song with a pretty air. 

CLXXV. 

Oran a Bhotuil ....... 363 

V^. m WLfc-t-^-OiZ '^^^^ bacchanalian, or bottle song, is of the real 

J convivial type^ The bard, evidently, had incurred 

jy ' -f- • / the loss of cattle, as he promises payment of his score 

in the form of a cow's hide. But " Begone, dull 

care," was his motto, and he fortifies his Epicurean 

philosophy by libations to Bacchus. 

CLXXVI. 

Oran Uidhisteach ....... 364 

A popular Uist ballad, sung on festive occasions. 

There are many more verses besides those given here. 

CLXXVII. 

Oran Irteach 365 

This song is by a lowly St Kilda maiden who 

had fallen in love with Campbell of Islay,' on the 

occasion of a visit by him to the lonely isle, and 

deserted a former lover. She sets forth her feelings 

in smooth measure and simple but chaste style. 

CLXXVIII. 

Duanag do 'n Ghaoith 367 

This exquisite lyric is the composition of a living 

bard, Dr Alexander Morrison of Larkhall, formerly 

of Sollas, North Uist. Dr Morrison has courted 

the muses in other effusions which deserve to live, 

and modesty alone withholds their publication. He 

paints the wind in its various phases, sighing 

through the foliage of trees, whispering about the 

grass, and bearing the scent of flowers under its 

wing, or riding in the greatness of its strength, and 

felling the mighty forest trees. Every stanza is a 

picture. 

r c>- ^j 

CONTENTS. Ixiii. 

PAGE 

CLXXIX. 

Seann Oean 369 

The author of this fine old song is unknown. It 

is a masterpiece of the poetic art, while the senti- 

ment is pure, the diction classic, and the thought 

and treatment cultivated. 

CLXXX. 

Oran le Uidhisteach an America .... 370 

This song of the Uist emigrant, now an exile, 

is expressive of the hardships endured in America, 

especially by the older emigrants. Their thoughts 

went back to their native land, dwelling on bygone 

friends and days — the golden spoils of memory — and 

finding expression in the well-known lines : — 

" From the lone shieling on the misty island. 

Mountains divide us and a waste of seas, 

But still our hearts are true, our hearts are 

Highland, 

And in our dreams we behold the Hebrides." 

CLXXXI. 

Seann Oran 372 

This is a song by a disappointed lover, who rings 

the changes on the infidelity of the lady. He would 

not have grudged her to a man of reputation, but to 

be forsaken for the bald weaver of the shuttles was 

beyond endurance. 

CLXXXII. 

^ Marbhrann Chaiptin Fearghustan .... 374 

The subject of this mock elegy by John Mac- 

Codrum was the notorious Captain John Ferguson, 

commander of the ship " Furnace," employed in 

1746 in the search for Prince Charles in the Western 

Isles. Ferguson, who was universally detested for 

his harsh proceedings, was of the family of Badi- 

furrow, in Aberdeenshire. He is charged with 

X 

Ixiv. CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

hanging two men in Barra for not giving him the 

information he desired. Following the example of 

his master and model, Butcher Cumberland, he 

allowed his men to commit great outrages in the 

islands of Eigg and Canna. He did not consider 

even poor Edward Burke beneath his notice, and 

searched all North Uist for him, but without success. 

He and the bard may have met on this occasion. 

Mrs Macdonald of Kingsburgh lifted her hands with 

horror when he announced himself shortly after the 

departure of the Prince from the house. He 

searched it carefully, with all the outhouses, and 

asked most impertinent and indelicate questions 

about the illustrious wanderer and his fair guardian. 

Flora herself, when arrested, was taken on board 

the " Furnace." It is satisfactory to find that 

though he continued in the service, this blackguard 

never received promotion. He died in 1767. In 

this elegy John MacCodrum, who, like the rest of 

the brotherhood of Gaelic bards, was a true 

Jacobite, belabours him with right good will, and 

gives expression to the universal feeling regarding 

him. He rejoiced at the welcome news wafted 

across the Cuan-Sglth of the foundering of Fergu- 

son's ship. The very hills express their joy, all 

except one, which, like Agamemnon of old, had 

" wept like a waterfall," but the other hills 

promptly sat upon it. The notorious Captain and 

his ship had perished amid the angry waves. If a 

great whale, or seal, has swallowed him, MacCodrum 

feels sure he will not be delivered as Jonah was. He 

would have a millstone tied round his neck, and Ben 

Cruachan itself heaped upon him to prevent hi« 

ever rising again. 

CLXXXIII. 

Bbamnachadh Tighb Fir Bhaosdail .... 376 

The house which so drew MacCodrum'o admira- 

tion was Kilbride House, the residence of Colin Mac- 

donald of Boisdale, demolished a few years ago. 

The " Blessing on Boisdale's House " was composed 

CONTENTS. llV. 

PAOE 

after 1768, in which year died Alexander Macdonald 

of Boisdale, of whom the bard speaks as having 

passed away, and to whose memory the first part of 

the song is dedicated. The rest is eulogistic of his 

son and successor, and his new residence. 

A very full account having already been given 

of John MacCodrum and his poetry in " The Uist 

Collection," it is not deemed necessary to give any 

lengthened notice of him here. 

He was born on the threshold of the 18th century ^4S8P^ 

at Cladh-Chothain, in Airdarunair, near the old 

parish church of Kilmuir, where there was a chapel 

dedicated to St Comgan, one of the saints of the 

Celtic Calendar, to whom there were also dedications 

in other parts of the country. Having been brought 

up at Airdarunair, MacCodrum 's next place of 

abode was Cachalaidh-na-Rebhil, in Hougharry, 

where he married, and was visited by MacMhaighstir 

^ Alastair. ^ He afterwards lived at Paible7 where he yx 

composed " Smebrach Chlann Domhnuill." In 

1762yhe is living at Langash, where the walls of his 

house are still to be seen in a good state of preserva- 

tion. In 1770 he is living at Eval, and he died at 

Airidh-a-phuill there on the 14th of April, 1779, in 

our opinion, the greatest of all the Island bards of 

whom there is any record. 

CLXXXIV. 

Oran Arabhaio 378 

This is a poetical duel between two clanswomen, 

a Macdonald and a Macleod, which ended in a real 

fight. The two female controversialists were sitting, 

one on each side of the stream flowing into Loch 

Snizort, which was the boundary between the pro- 

perties of Macdonald of Sleat and Macleod of Dun- 

vegan. The scene was at Glenbeg, three or four 

miles from the head of the loch, and there they 

reviled each other's clan. A male passer-by said, 

" An te aig a bheil an fhuil is deirge caitheadh i 

smugaid air an te eile." This having been done. 

^ i\M>.^^JU fP^jj^ 

Ixvi. CONTENTS. 

PIQE 

Margaret leapt across the stream and chastised her 

opponent. The song was so exciting that at a time 

of harvest at Ebost the rival bands into which the 

reapers were divided wounded themselves uncon- 

sciously with their hooks, and had bloody hands at 

the close of the day through the singing of it. 

CLXXXV. 

Oran mu Bhreacan an Fheilidh ..... 381 

This poem was composed on the repeal of the 

Disarming Act of 1746, and its interest lies in the 

historical occasion which gave rise to it, rather than 

in the possession of great poetical merit. The Act 

was repealed in 1782, a bill for that purpose having 

been introduced and passed on the incentive of the 

Marquis of Graham, afterwards Duke of Montrose, 

and the Hon. Archibald Campbell Fraser of Lovat. 

CLXXXVI. 

Do MhacDhomhnuill Ila ..... 385 

This poem on the Lord of the Isles, probably 

Donald of Harlaw, is from the Dean of Lismore's 

Manuscript Collection, and has not hitherto been 

published. We have not given a transliteration 

of the poem. Gaelic scholars no doubt prefer doing 

this for themselves. 

CLXXXVII. 

Uohdar de so Deadhan Chnoideart .... 389 

These lines on the death of Angus, Master of the 

Isles, and Diarmid O'Chairbre, the Irish harper, 

who assassinated him in 1490, were reproduced by 

us from the Book of Dean of Lismore in our first 

volume of the Clan Donald History in 1896. Since 

then a careful reading of the original text has shown 

that the author was not John of Kuoydart, but the 

Dean of Knoydart, and other emendations of the 

text have been made which rendered advisable the 

printing of the present version. 

CONTENTS. Ixvii. 

PAGE 

CLXXXVIII. 

BUAN AN LEUNSA AIR LETH ChUINN .... 390 

This is a very old Irish poem from a Clanranald 

manuscript. It laments the deaths of several per- 

sons in the territory of the race of Conn. 

CLXXXIX. 

Clarsair MhicDhomhnuill an Eirinn 392 

This is a lament by the Harper of Macdonald of 

the Isles during a sojourn in Ireland. Like the 

Jews of old he hung his harp on the willowB, 

refusing to sing any song of gladness or of feasting. 

He can only utter lamentations for the departed, 

who could not be roused by harp or song. 

CXC. 

Dimoladh nam Ban 393 

The author of this very old song in dispraise of 

women is unknown. It is another instance of an 

attitude towards the softer sex common in past 

centuries. It is a complaint against female incon- 

stancy, the bard adopting as his motto, tx uno disce 

omnes, against a woman with two hearts, a heart 

holding converse with him, and another injuring 

him behind his back, one who is in harmony with 

him on Sunday and forsakes him on Monday. The 

bard is at one with Hamlet when he said, " Frailty, 

thy name is woman." The stanzas contain quaint 

figures and forms of expression. 

CXCI. 

COMUNN NAN GaIDHEAL 395 

This is a short poem of high merit, spirited in 

style, pure in diction, and patriotic in sentiment. It 

describes a gathering of Scotch and Irish Gaels com- 

bined with a Welsh contingent. They are gathered 

for war, but a war of truth, in which the thistle, 

the shamrock, and the leek, the badges of the Scotch 

and Irish Gaels and of the Cymric race, are 

entwined in unity to represent the Celtic cause. 

liviii. 

CXCII. 

Oram nan Lotaichean ....... 397 

Donald MacRury, Torluin, Benbecula, the 

author of this song, was born in 1818, and was a 

baard of considerable local repute. He composed 

several songs, all of which are excellent in their way. 

Of these, " Oran nam Fasan," and " Oran na 

h-Inghinn," were published in Sinclair's " Oran- 

aiche " in 1879. He was an amiable, good man, 

and was highly respected by all who knew him. He 

died in 1903. This poem is a satire upon a certain 

development of estate management on the Long 

Island estate of Lady Gordon Cathcart, involving 

schemes and innovations which, however well- 

intentioned, did not meet with the approval of the 

crofting population. In 1882 the outrun, or cul- 

cinn, being pendicles of several crofter townships in 

Benbecula, was divided among the cottar population 

and converted into small holdings, or allotments. 

The following year several families emigrated to 

Manitoba. 

CXCIII. 

Oran a Bhata air Cuan-an-tak Uidhist . 400 

The author of this song is Angus Campbell, Am 

Bard Sgallach, who describes the perils of boating 

on the west coast of Uist among the great Atlantic 

rollers. When the sea arose, the crew gave them- 

selves up for lost. The Breabadair Ban called upon 

the rest to provide for their salvation by forgiving 

their enemies, and making other pious resolutions, 

he himself giving the horse he had for leading peats, 

to the poor. Donald Ard announces his intention of 

feeding the poor; but Alexander Morrison, being 

the practical genius, worked out his and their salva- 

tion by baling, and so successfully that the braye 

boat got eventually to land. 

CONTENTS. 

Ixii. 

CXCIV. 

Oran Clachan Lionacleit ...... 403 

This song is by the same author, and was composed 

in the early part of last century, when the new 

clachan at Linaclet was built by MacVarish, a man 

from Arisaig. It is a eulogy on the builder, whose 

achievements were, in the estimation of the bard, 

worthy of Royal recognition. Apropos of the refer- 

ence to the young proprietor of South Uist, it is 

stated in a letter of the year 1811 that " Macdonald 

of Clanranald is a great beau in the fashionable 

world, much in request because of his dancing." 

cxcv. 

DuAN Calluig ....... 405 

This Hogmanay rhyme was composed by Hector 

Macleod, the South Uist Bard. Hardly anything 

is known of the personal history of this bard, either 

in his native Uist, or elsewhere. According to Mac- 

kenzie of " The Beauties of Gaelic Poetry," he left 

Uist about the time of the '45, and lived on the 

mainland estate of Clanranald. Only three of his 

songs have been published. One appeared in the 

Collection of 1780. This and the other two appeared 

both in the Collection of Gillies in 1786 and in that 

of the Stewarts in 1804. Mackenzie appropriated 

these and extended them into four. Judged by 

these specimens of his bardic powers, we have no 

hesitation in putting Macleod in the very front rank 

of Highland bards. His " Moladh do Choilleach 

Smeoraich " is, we think, unsurpassed by any 

similar composition in the Gaelic language. 

CXCVI. 

Tri Duain Calluig 406 

The custom of " dol air Challuig," as it is 

called, is an old one, and is still kept up to some 

extent in the Western Isles. Hogmanay is Oidhcht 

Challuinn, or as it is sometimes called, Oidhcht 

na'm Bannay — the night of the bannocks. Calluinn 

IXX. CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

is no doubt derived from the Latin — Calendar 

Januarue — but it is otherwise explained by the word 

callan," signifying the noise made by the young 

men on Hogmanay night. Of old they used to go 

round the houses, one of them covered with a cow's 

hide hardened, while the rest beat it with sticks and 

shouted the while. It was the custom for young 

men, now relegated to boys, to go equipped with a 

duan, or rhyme, suitable to the occasion, which they 

repeated at the door of every house they came to. 

The response was in the form of a bannock specially 

prepared, and, in Uist, always made of barley meal, 

but in the houses of well-to-do people, butter and 

cheese were added. In earlier times married men 

joined in the rush for bannocks, as appears from the 

duan by Hector Macleod. A local rhymster was 

employed to compose a rhyme suitable to the place 

and people, and at the entertainment which fol- 

lowed something more potent than the ordinary fare 

was added — even the dew of Ferintosh. 

CXCVII.