Blair Collection > Treatise on the language, poetry, and music of the Highland clans

168 THE ;
'S tu b-eatrom bonn go trom do iiiheallag.
stu b-e-trom bonii ge trom do vellag
A Sheumais nan tur 's na'm baideal,
a heymaysh naa tur 's nam baydel
Gheibh luchd muirne cuirm a t-aitreabh ;
yeyv luo muyrni? cuyrm a taytrev
Ged do rinn u 'n dniseal cadail,
ged do rinn u 'n duy-sel cadayl
'S eibbinn leom do dhusgadh maidiiinn.
's eyvinn le-om do yusga' mayduynn
Light were thy footsteps though great
thy might.
James of towers and battlements,
Thy tuneful race will in the hall find
a festive welcome ;
Though thou didst doze for a time,
Joyful to me was thy morning vigil.
John the bare was certainly not less distinguished as a political poet among
those who understood his language than Dryden. The following is a free
imitation of one specimen of his poems on political subjects. The imitation is
so free as not to pay the least attention to the order of words and lines ; but it
is true to his thoughts and feelings, and makes him express them in the same
style and spirit in English as in the Gaelic. I cannot afford space for the
original, but versions of it, less or more correct, will be found in every collection
of Gaelic poetry.
S MI so AIR M UILLIN. — ON CROWNING CHARLES THE SECOND.
Upon my elbow calmly leaning,
Within the lovely mountain glen,
My mind indulged itself in dreaming
Of the strange deeds and lives of men !
And wherefore should my voice be silent,
While my heart bounds with pride
and joy,
Nor tell the Whigs, the base and violent.
Their greedy, rampant reign is bye ?
Their reign who falsely tried and
murdered
The true, the loyal, and the brave ;
Who, with their sophistry, bewildered
The people whom they would enslave.
With staff in hand, the while I hasten
To welcome home my native king,
Why should I doubt that he will listen
To the leal counsel I may bring ? —
Counsel from clans and chiefs true-
hearted.
Who suflered in their country's cause,
Which, through the royal bard im-
parted,
Should warn him to respect the
laws ;
But not the men whose conduct
baneful,
Has scattered ruin o'er the land.
And answered but with taunts dis-
dainful,
Those whom they robbed of wealth
and land.
Eemember, Charles Stuart, ever,
The lesson taught thee by the past,
Forgetting truth and justice never,
If thou wouldst that thy reign may
last.
Think, since the throne thou hast
ascended,
Without the aid of spear or sword.
How thy own rights may be defended,
And, eke, thy people's rights re-
stored.