Blair Collection > Selections from the Gaelic bards

M>.»1>EHN GAELIC BARD?
" Wound the huge swell on the ocean meadow,
Beavy and deep."
Or this other,
•'Let your fists' broad grasp be whitening
In your rowing ! "
Or how the effect of the cry "Suas orr!"
"Hurls the Birlinn through the cold glens,
Loudly snoring."
I )r again when they are told in the Boat Song to
" Let the grey sea ever foaming,
Splash her forward pressing shoulders,
And the currents groan and mingle
Far behind her."
Or the description of the steersman, who is to be,
" A well set prop full of vigour,
Broad-seated, thick,
Stout and sure, and skilful and wary.
Cautious, yet quick."
Or that c-f the balesman,
" His trust he '11 rigidly discharge it,
Neither faint nor slack,
Nor straightening, while a drop reinaiueth,
His bending active back;
'Though her boards should all get riddled.
He must keep her snug,
As a well-made lid, close fitting,
Keeps a polished jug."
Then, there is the description of the storm in which the Birlinn
made her firsl entry on the open sea. This, as a more elaborate
and sustained effort of the poet's imagination, cannot fail to
attract the notice ofa discerning reader. The elements are let