Volume II. Guth na Bliadhna ' leabhar II.]

I am glad to observe that this subject is at last beginning to arouse the attention which its import­ance deserves. A few years ago, it would have been impossible to excite the faintest interest in it; and the few who were ashamed of, and dis­gusted by, the public indifference, and raised their voices in feeble protest, were laughed at for their pains. The author of these observations was one of those who saw the folly and danger of the system of education then being pursued in respect of Gaelic, and wasted not a little time and energy in kicking against the pricks; and yet (it pleases me to think) my efforts were not entirely thrown away, as recent events in the Highlands have happily proved.

However stupid people may be, my experience is that they will probably see sense in the long run. Prejudice and ignorance abound in every community; but I have an inextinguishable belief in the "verdict of posterity". Tribulation may endure for a day, but joy come th with the morrow, saith the Psalmist, who was not over-sanguine at times; and however plentiful your crop of block­heads, the time must come when they will begin to languish and, presently, to fall away.

On the other hand, far be it from me to be understood as wilfully over-rating the public in­telligence. Many years passed in trying to train up the " young idea" have not left me with a particularly exalted notion of the human under­standing in the mass. The fact that for many scores of years the so-called educationists of this country (or, to be more accurate, of the other) have been vainly trying to educate Gaelic-speaking children via English-speaking teachers is one of those absurdities which tend to make a man a cynic and a pessimist before his time.

Still, in this life, it is good policy to feign grati­tude for small mercies if not to make a determined effort really to feel it. The mass of abuses which ought to be removed, and the amount of reforms that ought to be undertaken, are so formidable and altogether over-powering that the prostrated mind catches as eagerly at the slightest appearances of relief from their intolerable burden as the drown­ing man does at the proverbial straw. Personally, therefore, I welcome the change in public opinion in respect of the teaching of Gaelic with a huge sigh of relief; and if I were a youthful person, which I crave the reader's permission to say that I am not, my bonnet would probably be flying sky­high at this very moment in token of my joy and gratitude for certain recent " concessions ".

Two events have lately taken place in the Highlands which deserve the thoughtful attention of every individual interested in the progress of our race, and the welfare of the Gaelic-speaking people. I mean the recent conference at Inverness on the subject of Gaelic education, and the compli­mentary dinner to Mr. Robertson, Chief Inspector of Schools in the Highland district. The latter function was a seasonable and graceful recognition of the services of one who has not spared himself in the effort to make education something more than a name throughout the Highlands and Isles; and I consider that every Scottish Gael owes a great debt of gratitude to Mr. Robertson on that ac­count. At a time when even to mention the word Gaelic in connection with education was enough to set all our pastors and masters at Whitehall by the ears, that gentleman courageously pleaded the cause of our language in the schools, thereby exposing himself to not a little official, and officious, displeasure. Let us, therefore, not be backward to render honour where credit is due. No vice is more detestable (or ridiculous) than ingratitude; and I, for one, should be exceedingly sorry to see any differences of opinion which there may be touching Mr. Robertson's methods, and those which recommend themselves to others that I know, standing in the way of a full and grateful recognition of his claims to be considered (what the Highland News appropriately enough recently styled him) as yet another caraid nan Gaidheal.

No doubt Mr. Robertson is not so intrepid a reformer as some of us could wish him to be. To adopt the expressive, if barbarous, political phrase­ology of the day, he is not a Gaelic " whole-hogger"; but please to remember he is a paid government official, and was it not an ex-statesman, who is himself by no means remarkable for courage—I mean Lord Rosebery—who recently assured us that governments (and their officials, by consequence) are never "heroic". Certainly Mr. Robertson's proposals touching Gaelic in schools seem not destined to set the Ness on fire; and his some­what too cautious manner of handling the question is possibly irritating to some ardent spirits, who, by the way, have logic and reason, to say nothing of fashion, on their side. But Mr. Robertson belongs, if I may put it so without offence to one of the kindest and best friends that the Gaels of Scotland have ever had, to an old school. Moreover, he is a government official, and a loyal and zealous functionary as well. He knows his employers' pre­judices—I feel sure that their abounding ignorance on many points is as an open book to him—and, without compromising his principles, he does the best he can to render them as little injurious as possible, whilst, at the same time, preserving their confidence and esteem. Remember, too, that for twenty-five years Mr. Robertson has been in harness as an Inspector of Schools; and if in course of that long and honourable service his ideas touching education, especially Gaelic education, have become more or less stereotyped—the hyper-critical might style them even old-fashioned without apparent departure from strict truth—it is "the system," the government, " temperament," anything else probably, in short, that you may care to mention— save Mr. Robertson himself—that is to blame. If I must pass criticism—and, really, to do so after we have just been lapped, as it were, in panegyric, seems unseasonable, if not scurvy, conduct to in-J dulge in at this moment—I should say that where Mr. Robertson fails, if he fails at all, is not in respect of sympathy but breadth of view. He is too old and cautious a bird—I say it with no wand of respect—to be caught by the chaff (as doubtless] he considers it, though many of us know it to be true golden grain enough) of the Celtic Renais­sance. Above all, he has now been twenty-five] years an Inspector of Schools and a government official. A combination of employments so uncon­genial and exacting tends to knock the elasticity outj of a man. Let the individual that doubts the truth! of this axiom put it to a practical test—if he can.

In his speech—with most of which I agree] —at the dinner which was given in his honour, Mr. Robertson referred, with a pride which was not only pardonable but infectious, to his work in con­nection with the recent order respecting the trains ing of Gaelic pupil teachers. If Mr. Robertson,, as a Highland educationist, had lived in vain up to the time of the passing of that most importantj and necessary measure (which those best qualified¹ to judge are aware is by no means the case),! certainly the passing of that measure would not] only have completely exonerated him from all previous blame, but would entitle him to our abid­ing admiration and gratitude as well. Fortunately, however, our gratitude and admiration for Mr. Robertson are based upon a consideration of his official career as a whole; and however much the single isolated action referred to above may re­dound to his credit, we recognise in it a perfection of those counsels in which, throughout a long and honourable service, he has consistently and zealously indulged.

I was glad to observe by the newspaper accounts of the conference that what the various readers spf papers and speakers had most in mind was the (importance of introducing Gaelic-speaking teachers unto schools where the Gaelic language is the (prevailing speech of the district. This is- a most [necessary reform, and a measure of the simplest fcommon-sense, which is possibly one reason why dt has long been so unpopular with our English educationists at Whitehall. To try to teach a lchild a foreign language through any other medium |save his own tongue is sheer waste of time and unjustifiable extravagance. It simply cannot be done, as experience has proved time after time. I [notice that in his speech at the dinner Mr. Robert-tson went somewhat out of his way—at least, it [appeared so to me—to pat English-speaking teachers [in the Highlands on the back. No doubt many [of them are admirable men, and excellent public servants in their way; but they have no business fwhatever to be in Gaelic-speaking schools. " Oh," [says Mr. Robertson, " we get the best men we can, [and if the best man does not know Gaelic, it is a [pity, perhaps, in some ways, but his qualifications (•in other respects are too obvious to be overlooked." This, of course, is very bad reasoning; and I am [surprised that one who is usually so shrewd and [sound on educational questions should hold such Manguage for a moment. The fact is that given an Admirable Crichton, and a corresponding measure ■of genius for imparting knowledge, your Solomon fjs practically useless unless he can speak the language cf the individuals he is required to instruct. Is not this a self-evident fact \ Take the case of an Eng­lish-speaking boy who has to be prepared for life's ibattle in the ordinary way. Do you attempt to

"cram" him through the medium of French, or German, or any other foreign tongue that you may care to mention? Pray, what would be thought of the " system," or of its aiders and abettors, that should sanction or encourage so monstrous and ridiculous a proceeding ? The mill-stone of ridicule would promptly be tied about their necks, and they would be cast into the sea of extinction, amidst the plaudits of all. And yet, owing to the ignorance and apathy of the Highland people, and the insane and pettifogging prejudices of their educational rulers, this is precisely what is being done at this, very day in a really scandalous number of cases throughout the length and breadth of the Highlands, and Isles! The educational growth of thousands, upon thousands of promising intelligent Gaelic-speaking children is thus being mercilessly stunted, if not positively prevented, by this iniquitous. " system ". Can anything more monstrous, unjust, and ridiculous possibly be imagined ? But when you have arrived at the fact that the perpetrators of this outrage are English educationists, and the victims mere miserable Highlanders good for nothing-but soldiering, you will have indicated cause and effect as plainly as, under these unpromising cir­cumstances, it is necessary to discover them.

For this altogether anomalous, discreditable and ridiculous state of affairs I do not so much blame the Highland people themselves, who, no doubt, in many cases are stupid and short-sighted in no common degree, as their accredited repre­sentatives, county councillors, members of Parlia­ment, and so forth. Pray, what are these last about that they should tolerate so parlous a condition of things? They may object, "The Highland people, as a whole, has given us no mandate to press the question of Gaelic in the schools, therefore we do not feel justified in in­terfering". To which I reply, that mandate or no mandate, it is the duty of the people's repre­sentatives to see to it that the children of their constituents are not hopelessly handicapped in the struggle for existence; and that if their constituents are so ignorant as to be incapable of seeing the matter in this, its true, light, then the sooner they set to work to educate them up to it the better it will be for all concerned.

The question of the future of Gaelic will be settled in the schools—of that there can be no shadow of doubt. If the Gaelic language is to live, it must forthwith be introduced into the schools, not tentatively, half-heartedly and parti­ally, but thoroughly, uncompromisingly. It has been proved—the fact is patent to every modern educationist—that the possession of two languages —even though one of the two be a non-commercial one—supplies a better equipment than the pos­session of one only. The Gaels of Scotland are in the fortunate position of being a bi-lingual people. They should therefore bestir themselves, and see to it that they are not deprived of their remaining national possession—a most valuable educational asset—by a similar process and by the self-same agencies as have already despoiled them of so much. If Gaelic could be wiped off the list of living tongues to-morrow, then, indeed, sentiment apart, it might become a debatable question whether, in the interests of pure com­mercialism, it would not be better to sign the warrant for its execution and burial; but as, fortunately, for many reasons, in my opinion, it cannot be so summarily disposed of, then the obvious thing to do is to make it as useful as possible. To leave it to die a " natural" death by neglect and starvation would be a most heartless and improvident proceeding. The death agony of our grand and venerable tongue would necessarily be severe and protracted; and during its con­tinuance thousands of promising children would be subjected to a species of educational torture {and to life-long educational disabilities) for ab­solutely no fault of their own, and merely in order that a government scheme of no " official recogni­tion" as regards Gaelic might be pushed to its logical limits. However unselfish and "paternal" may be the attitude of the modern Highlander touching posterity, and however subservient his conduct to government, I scarcely think he is prepared to sacrifice his immediate offspring in order to confer a doubtful benefit upon generations which are yet unborn. That being so, he will, if he is wise, insist on his children being educated on common-sense lines—on their being efficiently instructed always in Gaelic, that is to say.

Hitherto I have dealt with the practical side of this question—with the aspect that regards exclusively Gaelic-speaking districts, that is to say. I propose to make a few observations, in conclusion, on what is, more or less, the sentimental side of the subject under discus­sion.

Personally I am a firm believer in the Celtic Renaissance, which possibly may seem an odd thing for a Scottish educationist to say; and I would willingly see "the movement," as it is called, embracing the whole of Celtic Scotland, or at all events as much of it as is left to us. Now, as I have already said, the question of the future of Gaelic rests with the schools—with the educational authorities throughout the country, that is to say. No amount of shouting at public meetings, writing to sympathetic newspapers, wear­ing of kilts and drinking of toasts, will save the language, if it is not introduced into the schools. Now, of these last there are a number in the Highlands in which the Gaelic language forms no part of the curriculum, although the home speech of many, perhaps the majority, of the children's parents is the ancient language of Alba. These children grow up with but a smattering of Gaelic—in too many cases they do not acquire even that—and so the language first languishes and then perishes.

It seems to me, therefore, that the Comunn Gàidhealach and its allies have hardly yet realised the great strategetic importance of the great glen of Scotland (for it is in the countries bordering, east and west, on that great thoroughfare that such mixed-speaking districts are most numerous) from the language point of view. In these countries —Grantown, Braemar, Tomintoul, etc., represent typical districts in which Gaelic is still the home speech of great numbers of the natives—the tongue of our ancestors is dying out with a rapidity which should be alarming to every true friend of the Gael; and unless something be done within the next few years, to check the decay of the language, in no long space of time Gaelic will have ceased to exist in those districts, and a large and im­portant part of Alba will cease to be truly national. Once the great glen and the neighbouring countries have been thoroughly Anglicised, it stands to reason that we shall then be within measurable distance-of a time when Gaelic will be confined to the


126

Gaelic Education

Seachd Mòr-mhaoir na h-Alba 127

Isles, and to a comparatively narrow strip of country flanking the western sea-board of Scotland. Its utter decay and extinction, under these circum­stances, can only be a question of a further slight extension of time.

What the Comunn Gàidhealach and its friends should therefore now do is, obviously, to carry the war into that part of the country which comprises the great glen, and adjoins thereto, tohilst yet there is time. They should at once seize, as it were, all the passes and strategical points of that country, and hold them, for all that they are worth, in the interests of the Gaelic language and nationalism. The language is dying fast in the great glen and neighbouring territories; but sufficient remains to form a casus belli, as it were, and a means whereby the Gaelic tongue might yet be preserved to future generations of Highlanders. Mods and conferences are all very well in their way, but unless they bring their lessons home to the people at large, they are bound to result, sooner or later, in merely so much wasted effort. The people, especially the inhabi­tants of the mixed-speaking districts, must forthwith be informed and instructed, and the whole " move­ment " brought into line with the principles of the "Welsh and Irish language propaganda. Organisers must be sent them, who should explain and expound the gospel of nationalism; and, then, when public opinion is ripe for it, the language itself must be introduced into the schools. All this requires, of course, the sinews of war; and, doubtless, the existing resources of the Comunn are quite inade­quate to cope with so great an effort. But surely the opening of a national subscription list in Scot­land (and wherever Scots congregate throughout the world) in behalf of the Gaelic language is a measure which lies well within the limits of the province and capacity of our Celtic societies. Our Irish kinsmen collect through this channel several thousands of pounds a year to help them in their language crusade. I am loath to believe that the Gaels of Scotland, Canada and elsewhere would prove themselves one whit less generous and patriotic, in the event of a similar appeal being addressed to them.

A Scottish Educationist.
seachd mor mhaoir na h-alba

(Air a leantainn)

So againn, uime sin, Seachd Roinnean na h-Alba, a rèir Giraldus Cambrensis, maille ri Seachd Roin­nean a bha fo uachdrannachd dhoibh :

Athol 1

Gabharaidh J

Aonghas \

Magh-Chirchinn no Moern J

Srath Eirinn \

Menteith J

Marr \

Buchan J

Fiofa 1

Fothreve J

Moiridh \

Ros J

Gallaobh \

Citra montem et Ultra montem ) Thugamaid fainear, a nis, an clàr-ainm so. Tha e cinnteach gu'n robh na roinnean so uile 'n am mòr-roinnean na h-Alba o chionn fada. Tha Athol,

Aonghas, Fortrenn (is a sin Srath Eirinn is Men-teith), Marr, Fiofa agus Moiridh air an ainmeachadh gu tric anns na h-eachdraidhean Eirinneach; agus, tha Mor-mhaoir nan roinnean so air an ainmeachadh gu tric, mar an ceudna, anns na leabhraichean ud. Beachdaichidh sinn air na roinnibh uile ann am beagan bhriathran.

Cha 'n 'eil dad sam bith thaobh Ghabharaidh anns na h-eachdraidhean Gàidhealach, ged a tha e comasach gu'n robh an leithid sin do roinn ann, an uair a bha Alba an seilbh nan Cruithneach. Tha sàr fhios agam, co dhiu, nach 'eil iomradh air bith air Mor-mhaor Ghabharaidh anns na h-eachd­raidhean a bhuineas do na Gàidheil, no anns na h-eachdraidhean a bhuineas do na Sasunnaich.

Bha Buchan, gun teagamh, 'n a aon do roinnibh na h-Alba, ged nach 'eil iomradh air, no air a Mhòr-mhaoir anns na h-eachdraidhean a bhuineas do na h-Eirionnaich. Gidheadh, tha fios againn gu'n robh e, a dh'aindeoin sin, 'n a roinn na h-Alba bho Leabhar nan Deur, anns am beil mòran iomradh air, 's air na Mòr-mhaoir a bha os a chionn.

A thaobh Fhorthreve, cha 'n 'eil iomradh air anns na h - eachdraidhean Gàidhealach. Tha e comasach gu'n robh a leithid sin do roinn, agus Mor-mhaor mar an ceudna, ann ; ach cha 'n 'eil fios cinnteach sam bith againn umpa.

Bha Ros, mar a bha Buchan, gun teagamh 'n a aon de roinnibh na h-Alba, ged a b'e "Iarla" Uilleam a' cheud Mhòr-mhaor a bha os cionn na dùthcha sin, a tha aithnichte do dh'eachdraidh. Bha an t-Uilleam so ann anns a' bhliadhna 1153.

A nis, ann am bheachd-sa, is e an ni a's neòn­aiche a thaobh a' chlàr-ainm so, a neo-iomlanachd. Cuimhnichidh, guidheam oirbh, nach 'eil d'thubhairt an t-Easbuig Aindrea (a bha 'n a Easbuig an Gal­laobh) gu'n robh Alba air a roinneadh mar sin 'n a làtha-sa, ach gu'n robh e air a roinneadh mar a thubhairt e, còrr agus mile bliadhna roimh sin.

Tha Scene ag ràdh, "is urrainn duinn a chur an cèill coig as na seachd roinnean " ; ach cha 'n urrainn da, no do neach sam bith eile innseadh dhuinn gu pongail an cruth a bha air an dùthaich so 'nuair a bha i air a roinneadh le Cruithne agus a mhic. Anns na làithean sin, bha priomh-mhuinntir na h-Alba ann an làn-seilbhe air an dùthaich so air fad. Bha Earraghaidheal agus na h-Eileannan air an àiteachadh le Gàidheil; agus cha d'thàinig na Pàganaich fhathast o Loch-linne gus an dùthaich so an toir air creich, agus suil aca criochan ceann tuath na h-Alba a chur fo smachd. Aig an àm ud, bha Alba air fad aig na Gàidheil; agus, mar sin, ma bha an dùthaich so air a roinneadh mar a thubhairt an t-Easbuig Aindrea, na h-eachdraichean agus mòran eile, nach e tha h-anabarrach iongantach gu bheil an sean-sgeul so mu Chruithne agus a mhic ag innseadh dhuinn dad sam bith thaobh Earraghaidheal agus nan Eileannan? Na tha Scene ag ràdh anns an leabhar ris an canar, The Highlanders of Scotland, nach 'eil sin gun teagamh fior ? " Tha 'n diubhras so (ars esan, thoiribh fainear gu'm beil e 'labhairt mu'n dà chlàr-ainm a bha air an cur a mach le Giraldus Cambrensis), a' cur an cèill gu solleir an dà linn air leth d'am buin iad. Tha a' cheud chlàr-ainm a' fagail a mach Earraghaidheal: tha 'n dara clàr-ainm a' gabhail beachd air Earraghaidheal, ach tha e 'fagail a mach Gallaobh. Rinn an naothamh ceud linn na caochlaidhean sin ann an Alba a chuir soilleireachadh air an diubhras so. Chuir a' bhuaidh Ghàidhealach anns a' bhliadhna 843, Dail Riada ri Alba; agus mu dheireadh na linne sin, thuit

Gallaobh fo smachd uan Lochlannaich. _ Tha 'n dara clàr-ainm, uime sin, a nochadh gu soilleir nan roinnean a bha aig Righ na h-Alba an deigh an naothamh ceud linn. Tha a' cheud chlàr-ainm a' deanamh deilbh a thaobh rioghachd nan Cruith­neach a tha ceart cho firinneach ris an fhear eile, agus tha e roimh a' bhuaidh a thug Gàidheil na h-Eirinn air an Earraghaidheal. Tha na Seachd Boinnean air a' cheud chlàr-ainm a' nochdadh gu soilleir seilbhean nan Cruithneach. Is i a' chuid a tha air a' fagail a mach gu ceart a' chuid sin a bha aig na Dail Eiadianaich. Agus tha so ro chud­thromach ; oir tha e 'dearbhadh gu'n robh pairt­eachadh air na Seachd Roinnean dualach do na Cruithneach, agus gu'n robh e aig bun rioghachd na h-Alba."

Ach, mo thruaighe! air son na tha de fhirinn anns a' bheachd so (a chur Scene a mach le leithid do stri), bhuin pairteachadh na h-Alba, a tha air ainmeachadh anns an t-sean sgeul mu Chruithne agus a mhic, do'n choigeamh linn roimh Chriosd. Ach tha e so-fhaicinn, a nis, gu'm buin an sean sgeul so do'n ochdamh, no do'n naothamh ceud linn; oir cha 'n 'eil e a' gabhail beachd air Alba, nuair a bha i air fad ann an seilbh nan Cruithneach!

So againn ni eile thaobh an t-sean-sgeil so mu Chruithne a tha cur an cèill a shuarrachas mar eachdraidh fhirinnich. Cha 'n 'eil an clàr-ainm a chuir Giraldus a mach a' gabhail beachd air Leamhainn, Mòr-mhaorachd cho mòr agus cho aosda 's a bh'ann ann an Alba gu lèir.

A rèir O'Flaithbheartaigh, bha a' Mhòr-mhaor-achd so air a cur air cois le mac a bha aig Core, righ Mhumhan ann an Eirinn; ach ge b'air bith ciod a thubhairt easan, tha e cinnteach gu bheil an àrd-inbhe so glè aosda. Bha i ann, gu cinnteach, an uair a bha Cambrensis a' sgriobhadh, agus ma tha 'chuis mar sin, carson nach d'rinn e iomradh oirre? Cha d'rinn e sin, rèir na h-uile coslais, a chionn's nach b'urrainn da suim a' gabhail dith, agus an sean-sgeul mu Chruithne agus a sheachd mic a chur an cèill cuideachd. Cha b'urrainn da an dà sgeulachd a dheanamh rèidh ri chèile.

Ach ged is maith a dh'fhaodas sinn teagamh ghabhail a thaobh an t-sean-sgeoil so, cha 'n 'eil còir duinn a bhi gabhail ris mar ni nach fiù, mar tha 'n rannsachail- anns an Edinburgh Review a' deanamh. Tha easan a gabhail ris mar ni aig nach 'eil bun sam bith. Tha Bruce no na fir-taice a bh'aige ag ràdh gu soilleir, gu'n robh '-les Seet Countes d'Escoce" ann an uair "il avoit guerre entre le Roi de Engleterre et le Roi d'Escoce . . . que les Seet Countes d'Escoce feussent tenus de serment," etc., etc.

A nis, tha e cinnteach nach robh comas aig Bruce, no aig na fir-taice a bh'aige sgeul bhreug de'n t-seòrsa so a chur a mach. Tha iad a' labhairt mu thimchioll nan "Seet Countes d'Escoce" air dòigh tha nàdurra gu leòir, agus ge b'e air bith luach a th'air an eachdraidh a sgriobh iad, tha e cinnteach gu'n robh iad a' labhairt mu rud èiginn air an robh na h-uile fear fiosrach an uair a bha iad a' labhairt mu thimchioll nan " Seet Countes d'Escoce". Cha 'n 'eil Seachd Mòr-mhaoir na h-Alba, no na "Seet Countes d'Escoce" air an cur air chois an uair an connsachadh airson caithir-rioghail na h-Alba a' dol air aghart, is e sin ri ràdh, air do Bhan-righ na h-Alba bàs fhaotainn an uair a bha i air turas a dh'ionnsuidh na h-Alba.

Anns a' bhliadhna 1250, an uair a bha corp Ban-righ Mhairearaid air a ghluasad as an àite anns an robh e gus an ionad-ciùil aig Dun Phàrlain,

132 Seachd Mòr-mhaoir na h-Alba

tha e air a ràdh gu'n robh an gnothuch sin air a ghabhail os làimh an làthair nan "Septem Epis-coporum et Septem Comitum Scotiae". Anns an ath bliadhna, rinneadh casaid air Dorsair an Righ do bhrigh gu'n d'fheuch e a bhean a chur suas mar bhan-oighre dhligheach agus laghail na rioghachd, agus air an dòigh sin a dheanamh greim air a' chathair-rioghail i fèin. Rinneadh casaid air Rob Dhun Phàrlain aig an àm cheudna a chionn gu'n d'rinn e oidhirp air a' chomh-run so a chuideachadh. Air an aobhar sin, cha d'thugadh seachad an Seul Mòr do Ghamelin, a bha 'n a mhorair nan Seul a bha 'n a fhear-leantainn dha; ach bha e air a bhriseadh 'n a bhloighdean an làthair nam flàithean a bha an ceann a chèile aig an àm sin; oir chur iad Rob as àite a chionn gu'n d'rinn e droch ghrèidheadh air an t-seula.

Cha 'n 'eil fhios againn an robh a' chasaid so air a bunadh gu math, no nach robh; ach na 'n d'fhuair Dorsair an Righ ceartas a mhna air agradh, 's e an ath cheum a ghabhadh e a bhi a' cur air aghart na còrach a bha aig a nighean air crùn na h-Alba.

Gun teagamh, cha bhiodh comas no cead aige am feasd air Morairean na h-Alba "a chur air chois air son a' ghlacaidh eucoraich so "; ach, mar tha Robertson e fèin ag ràdh gu math "cha 'n 'eil e do-chreidsinn gu'n deanadh e oidhirp ' Cùirt Sheachd Mòr-mhaoir na h-Alba 'a thoirt air ais, no a chur air chois gus an glacadh eucorach so a dhaingneachadh". Bha Seachd Mòr-mhaoir air an suidheachadh an toiseach anns a' bhliadhna 1250, agus anns a' cheart ath bhliadhna, rinneadh casaid an aghaidh Dorsair an Righ. " Tha 'n comh-chordadh so," arsa Robertson, " eadar an aon chùis agus am fear eile glè shonraichte, gu h-àraid ma

r33

The Celt in Spain

tha sinn a' beachd-smuaineachadh (mar bu chòir dhuinn) gur e Bruce, aon de na fir-taice a bu mhò a bha aig Dorsair an Righ; agus gur e easan a chur an cèill e fèin, an deigh sin, mar aon de na luchd-leanmhuinn a bha aig "Seachd Mòr-mhaoir na h-Alba."

Tha aobhar maith againn a bhi saoilsinn gu'n do thagh muinntir na dùthcha so o chionn fhada an Righ air son fèin, no, an àite sin gu'n do ghabh iad ris, air dha 'bhi air a chur air chois dhoibh le "Morairean na h-Alba". Tha e comasach, gu dearbh, gu'n do thaghadh an Righ le "Riaghla­dairean Sheachd Roinnean na h-Alba " aig amannan na's traithe na sin; ach a thaobh eachdraidh na h-Alba an deigh linn Chaluim a' Chinn-mhòir, cha 'n 'eil iomradh againn air comunn no còir sam bith de 'n leithidibh sin.

CiARiAN Mac Chtarian. (Ri leantainn.)
the celt in spain

That brilliant historian, Martin Hume, observes very truly that each race, each civilisation, which in turn reached the Spanish Peninsula, could get no farther, and on that account was obliged, of necessity, there to stand, fight, and finally to pass away before the social or racial dispensation that supplanted it. The geographical position of Spain sufficiently explains this just assertion; for situated as it is at the extreme left of the European conti­nent, and nearly isolated by two seas and by the steep barrier of the Pyrenees, it nevertheless con­stitutes a central point to which successive immi­grations were propelled in the form of invading tides, drawn from all quarters, from north, east, south, and, it is possible, even from the west.

To a daring people, southward bound, the Spanish promontory was the natural goal. Its Atlantic coasts were constantly exposed to the roving incursions of the primitive wanderers. The Gibraltar isthmus, which once undoubtedly existed, connected in bygone ages the African continent and the then marshy and sea-swept islands which later came to be known as the Hesperia of poetry. And when by incessant and mighty erosion that link finally disappeared, the connexion with Africa was destroyed and a formidable obstacle erected to the progress of invasion from the South.

In spite, however, of that ancient link—the isth­mus formerly connecting the Peninsula and Africa— it has been well said that Spain is one of the most highly composite ethnographic groups that exist among the western nations. And, certainly, pre­historic and historic data account for no less than twelve principal invasions, some of which have been subdivided into several branches. There are traces on the Spanish soil of the Neanderthal, or Canstadt, a man of low stature but robust physique, who went from Central Europe to the Peninsula. There are abundant proofs, also, of the existence, within the same area, of the so-called North Afri­can, a man strongly built, of great height and dolichocephalic, who is believed to have entered Spain by the isthmus of Gibraltar, and traces of whom survive among the inhabitants of many localities, particularly amongst those who presently inhabit the territory of Andalusia. Moreover, sufficient evidence remains to prove that a Turanian man of Asiatic origin reached Spain after having over-run Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine and Egypt,

Greece, a great part of Africa, the occidental coasts of Europe, the British Isles and Sicily. History speaks of yet another great invasion by a race akin to the Semite (but its predecessor), which once about the fifteenth century b.c. formed the vast Ibero-Lybian empire, stretching from Asia and extending to both coasts of the Mediterranean Sea down to the western end of the then known world. And coming to historical times, we find that the Phoenician plantation followed the Greek establish­ment ; then came the Celtic conquest, the Cartha­ginian occupation, the Roman dominion, the various barbarian irruptions, and, last of all, the Moorish subjugation.

Setting aside as of no practical account the pompous theory of the existence in Europe of three sorts of graduated beings, homo Europeus, homo Alpinus, and homo Meditermneus—a theory invented, apparently, to flatter the vanity of those who wish to be included in the first, and, conse­quently, the superior group, we have instead some­thing less synthetic indeed, but a great deal more intelligible and at the same time agreeable to fact, namely, the opinion that out of all the different peoples who from the beginning have occupied and possessed the Spanish Peninsula, some have proved to be essentially basic and some essentially dynamic. Some have proved to be strata, amenable to fecunda­tion by higher civilisations, but impervious to despot­ism, absorption, and, consequently, to destruction. Some indeed have been conquered, the imperial sceptre has swayed over their enslaved bodies—but it has been powerless, in many cases, to subjugate their wills, or to exterminate in them the conscious­ness of national honour and those fine ideals touching liberty and ireedom which animate a highly-strung independence-loving people. They may have been temporarily depressed indeed; but their subjection lasted so long only as the arm which kept them down was possessed of its repressive force. They seem to have had a strange recuperative power under tyranny and misfortune, and have never been entirely obliterated. They have always risen again after each successive defeat, and asserted more strongly than ever their peculiar traits. Why ? For what reason ? Let us examine.

The two peoples which constitute the basis of the Spanish nation are the Iberian and the Celt, who are both of the same stock, although specialised during the long period of their wanderings from their Asiatic birthplace to their European home. They were brothers. The Iberians, the elders, had been fertilised, as it were, by reason of their long contact with the Egyptians, before they came to the Peninsula, as is abundantly proved by the evidence of their ceramic remains, which are numerous in Spain. The Celts, the younger branch of the same race, were already welded into a great empire in the third century b.C. This empire com­prised, to the north, the territory now known as Germany, to the east, the territory about the shores of the Danube and Thracia, to the west it was bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the British Isles, and to the south it comprised northern Italy, where the Celts came in close contact and relation with some branches of the Iberians. When both met in the Peninsula, the one as occupier of the soil, the other as invader, neither of them was greatly inferior to the other in respect of culture, although the most advanced, generally speaking, were those who had profited by the correspondence with Egypt. After warfare and considerable fric­tion, they amalgamated ; and, as anthropology ex­presses it, the most energetic physically, invigor­ated the more ancient race in different degrees, according to the proportions of the numbers that became blended in the various regions planted by the two peoples.

It is commonly said and believed, that the Celt came into the Peninsula through the Pyrenees, not in one particular invasion, but in a series of waves of immigration—each successive invasion pushing the one that had preceded it farther and farther into the heart of the country, until at last almost the whole Peninsula was laid under contribution by the Celtic immigrants. When they were stopped they fought and conquered; and then pushed on again, carrying with them their wives and children, their cattle, sheep, and goods and chattels. Where their numbers precluded conquest, they stayed as friends, but only in a very few cases were they obliged to withdraw altogether. Speaking generally, their numbers thinned in proportion as they advanced from north to south, the south and south-eastern