Blair Collection > Celtic monthly > Volume 1, 1893

190
THE CELTIC MONTHLY.
which the body of the book affords. It pro
fosses, through the Breton tongue, "to furnish
an introduction to the tongues of all known
peoples." The title page has also two mottoes,
big \\ it li the same grotesque significance. These
are "Filii Japhet Gomer, Magog, Javan et
Madai," and " Celtica Negata. Negatur Orbis."
The Celtic language is, of course. " la premiere
du monde," and we all know what that means.
But the work is really interesting and useful.
Besides two rather meagre vocabularies — one
of words common to Breton and the other
ancient tongues, and one, in the ordinary dic-
tionary form, of Breton French — it contains
some valuable Breton tests with translations,
such as fables, an old Breton song, and the
parable of the Prodigal Son. Of this curious
work I have never seen another copy than my
own. To any reader of the Celtic Monthly pos-
sessing a copy who will kindly communicate
with me I shall feel much obliged.
The experiences of book-hunting on the
Parisian quays above referred to, go back to a
time which is now fast getting to be ancient
history. But this last spring, when called to
the French capital on business of urgency and
no little anxiety, I managed, nevertheless, to
find my way one morning to the old haunts.
Unfortunately, it was one of the Lent holidays,
and rather early in the day. The bookstalls
were there, but almost the whole of them were
still unopened. Yet I was fortunate enough
to get good bright copies of Darn's " Histoire
de Bretagne" andPicot's " Histoire desGaulois."
And on my way back to the hotel I fell in with
a bookstall where, and such as, I had never
seen one before. It nestled under shelter of
the cornice of the first floor of one of those
pointed corner buildings sharply beginning the
many radiating streets which diverge from
points here and there in the Boulevarde des
Italiens. The shelves were fixed in the out-
side of the wall, under shelter of the cornice,
and on them was ranged a goodly arraj of
promiscuous literature, old and new. And lo!
there, in fine old calf, hut still bright and
clean, a copy in two volumes of Le Tourneur's
Oman in French* I did not pounce on the
■ Both volumes have copious MS. notes which are "l
considerable Lntrinsii inten -t ; and I thii I I ci ace
in them a clc.-,. i >lil;in< <■ m tin l'..utihi] band-
writing of the late Francisque Michel. Fortunately
this writing is not on any part of the book itself, every
printed page of which 'is immaculate. But the first
owner followed the laudable practice, now almost for-
gotten, of providing a "safe deposit" for his annota
tions by binding up with his books some 20 pp. oi
blank paper at the beginning and end of each volume,
So also I once saw in a private hotel in London, much
frequented by Spaniards, a piece of sand paper pasted
on the wall, on each side of the lire-place, with this
notice to smokers, "Scratch matches here."
prize all at once: but with a wary show of mi
concern I manoeuvred into position. When,
however, in good time I got alongside and
duly examined the volumes, I could find no
one in charge from whom to buy them. Again
and again I looked for him. but in vain ; and
at last I had to take my departure, vexed and
in some sense angry. Some days after, having
to pass that way, I made a discovery. From
part of the shelves against the wall the shutter
like covering boards had not yet apparently
been taken down. And at one place the
shutter, like the door of an old Highland barn,
was hinged in two divisions, the upper division
being ajar to some extent. There sat, like
Jack-in-the-box, the venerable proprietaire. And
the " Poesies Galliques " were still unsold. We
did business to the satisfaction of both parties.
But in a mild way he took the stranger in.
Being shown a ''yellow back," entitled I.e.
Drutde, I thought that some of the great French
novelists had gone back to pre-Christian times,
and with rare archaeological skill, as well as
with the genius of creative imagination, had
here reproduced the breath and movement, the
joys and sorrows, the comedy and tragedy of
human life among the sacred oaks and bloody
sacrifices of Druid times. Not so I found it.
But the joys and sorrows, common-place enough
in all conscience, of the Parisian development
of Arry and 'Arriet in this closing nineteenth
century. " Le Druide " was his slang name.
I must not grudge my garrulous Jack-in-the-
box the extra franc he thus made out of our
dealings. The Ossian in French was a " find "
of some value, and it did not cost me much.
Besides, though I have called the good man
Jack, he wears an honourable name. His
name, which any man may read over his won-
derful box, is Guerin ; and for aught known to
me he may be the descendant and namesake of
the publisher, to whom we owe the beautiful
first edition of Donlcvy's Irish Catechisiu.au
exceedingly beautiful book, which, by the way —
and let this close, as its last digression, this
roundabout paper, not unlike John Bright's
terrier— I picked out from a heap of promiscu
ous rubbish in the back shop of a "general
dealer and auctioneer" in Monmouthshire.
The Annual Conference and Demonstration of
the Highland Land League will be held in the Citj
Hall, Glasgow, on Wednesday, L'Oth September, the
conference beginning at ft a.m., and the demonstra-
tion at 8 p.m. We sincerely trust that our readers in
the West of Scotland will do all they ran to make
these meetings successful, by attending themselves,
and making the mailer known to their friends.
We bope to see a large attendance at both gather-