Blair Collection > Celtic monthly > Volume 7, 1899

THE CELTIC MONTHLY:
A MAGAZINE FOS HIGHLANDERS.
Edited by JOHN MACKAY, Glasgow.
No. 8 Vol. VII.]
MAY, 1899.
[Price Threepence.
MATHEW H:eNDERSON,
PRESIDENT, GLASGOW COWAL SOCIETY.
fT has been estimated that about two-thirds
of the population of Gla.sgow are of Celtic
— name, and a glance at the directory will
be sufficient to convince one that a very large
proportion of these are of West Highland origin.
To the young and ambitious Gael in the remote
clachans of Argyllshire and the Western Isles,
Glasgow offers attractions comjiared to which
even the great metropolis must be content to
occupy an inferior j^laoe The Northern High-
lands sends the bulk of its young men to Edin-
burgh and London, while the Western Highlands
))Ours the best of its strong and energetic man-
hood into St. Mungo's city, where its immense
commercial connections offer plenty of scope for
their energies and talents. Even Glendaruel,
that secluded and beautiful little spot in Cowal,
sends its annual contingent city-wards — probably
inspired with the spirit of " The Lost Pibroch ",
the strains of which seem to iire the ambition
and adventurous desire of the youth of every
Highland village.
Among the many men of note which Cowal
has presented to Glasgow, there is no one better
known than the genial Highlander whose portrait
we give this month. Mr. Mathew Henderson
was born in "The Glen," the son of a farmer, and
came of a sturdy stock. As a boy he acquired
proficiency in those two qualifications which are
expected to equip the Highland lad for the
battle of life — a good education and a reputation
as a crack shinty player ! They indicate a
healthy mental and physical condition. When
twenty years of age, Mr. Henderson came to
Glasgow to serve his apprenticeship as a joiner
with the firm of John Nairn ife Sons, on the
completion of which he accepted a partnership
with John Lamb it Co. ; and since the retiral
of Mr. Lamb forty years ago, ilr, Henderson
has carried on the business in his own name.
His career has been very successful, hi" firm to-
day occupying one of the foremost positions in
the trade in the West of Scotland. Many of
the finest buildings in Glasgow bear evidence to
his energy and skill ; while some of the largest
erections on the Clyde are examples of his
enterprise.
The enthusiasm which characterises Mr.
Henderson in his business pursuits he carries
with him into all matters in which he may be
interested. In recognition of the high position
which he occupies in his trade, he was elected a
Deacon of the Wrights' Incorporation ; and a
similar honour was conferred upon him by the
ancient Society of Anderston Weavers. To
Highlanders, however, he is popularly known as
President of the Glasgow Cowal Society, a
position which he has worthily held during the
past two years. This society enjoys the
reputation of being one of the most useful and
successful of the Highland organizations of
Glasgow ; and it is interesting to mention that
Mr. Henderson has made his term of otlice the
most prosperous in the Jiistory of the society.
At the Annual Business Meeting, held last
month, he was elected Hon. President.
He occui)ied the chair at the recent large
Annual Concert of the Cowal Shinty Club,
his amusing reminiscences of how shinty was
played in his younger days in Cowal being one
of the most enjoyable features of the evening.
Some years ago he built a beautiful house at
Drumchapel, where Highland friends always
receive a hearty welcome from the Deacon and
his hospitable wife.
An Appreciation. — That the Celtic Monthly
is welcomed in distant lands is amply evidenced
by the following extract from an American letter:
''The Cdtic is good throughout, the illustrations
' second to none.' The short stories which appear
from month to month are selected with excellent
judgment. Whenever Torquil Macleod appears
with one of his quaint but graphic stories, which
are singularly appropriate to the columns of such
a magazine, the land of the ' Almighty Dollar ' is
forgotten for the nonce, and we are again back in
the land of beetling crags and dark mantling woods.
The late Alexander Mackenzie never dreamed that
the successor to his magazine would turn out to be
such a beauty, in accomplishments as well as in
appearance. Yon have good reason to be proud of
the CeHH.r