Blair Collection > Celtic gleanings, or, Notices of the history and literature of the Scottish Gael

LECTURE I. 11
appeared in one of the popular Eeviews of the
United States, an attempt has been made to
show that not above one-twentieth of the in-
habitants of the Union are Celtic ; and no small
boast is made of the result of the demonstra-
tion. It is indeed a very popular belief that
there is some peculiar excellence about the An-
glo-Saxon character. To be an Anglo-Saxon is,
in the eyes of many, to be a being of a supe-
rior order altogether. Amazing intellect ! as if
every Anglo-Saxon were a Socrates. Amazing
energy ! as if every Anglo-Saxon were a sort of
walking steam-engine. Tremendous solidity !
as if every Anglo-Saxon were as immoveable as
Snowdon or Schiehallion ! It would appear
as if everything great and good in this land
of ours were due to its Anglo-Saxon connec-
tions ! Let us just look at these claims from
a Celtic stand-point, and examine a little into
their worth, and I am sure our brethren will ex-
cuse us if we deal as freely with them as they
have done with us in the matter.
Let it be observed, then, that the very name
Anglo-Saxon is a thing of yesterday. In fact,
our neighbours do not find it easy to fit them-
selves with a name. For a long period they
were Saxons, a name now well-nigh obsolete,
save in the vocabulary of the Celt. Then they