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sokes the tenantry vntliout winning the laird. An alder lord ivill
twist an oak tenant. Ill for them that have a weak lord. He that
quarrels with the gentry is a miserable man. It's easy to put him out
whose own the house is not. Slifpery is the flagstone at the great house
door. The yield of the land is according to the laird. But for fear
of double rent, Tiree would yield a double crop. It's little we complain,
though we suffer much. One teat of a cow is better than a quarter
of oats. Tenant after tenant makes the lands dear. The sheep's jaw
will put the plough on the shelf. Where there are no boys in arms,
there will be no armed men.
Husbandry — Food. — There are a great many sayings
under these heads. They belong to a time when the
cultivation of the soil, though of a rude and primitive
kind, supplied the chief source of living to the popula-
tion, and was done with ploughs and not with spades,
when the great majority of the peasantry had horses,
cows, and sheep, of their own. Their food consisted
chiefly of oatmeal cakes, porridge, and gruel, butter and
cheese, occasionally fish, very rarely meat. One Gaelic
word peculiarly indicates the dependence of the Gael
on the soil — ' Teachd-an-tir,' the yield of the land, the
most common term for living, sustenance. Scarcity of
food, sometimes dearth, was not confined to the High-
lands two centuries ago, but it was naturally more
common in the remoter and least cultivated parts.
One of the sayings very exactly expresses the Highland
character in reference to food. A man can live on little,
hut not on nothing. Moderation in meat and drink
has always been a Highland characteristic. The use of
whisky is comparatively modern. Among the sayings
here collected it is only once mentioned by name, while
references to ale and wine are numerous.
twist an oak tenant. Ill for them that have a weak lord. He that
quarrels with the gentry is a miserable man. It's easy to put him out
whose own the house is not. Slifpery is the flagstone at the great house
door. The yield of the land is according to the laird. But for fear
of double rent, Tiree would yield a double crop. It's little we complain,
though we suffer much. One teat of a cow is better than a quarter
of oats. Tenant after tenant makes the lands dear. The sheep's jaw
will put the plough on the shelf. Where there are no boys in arms,
there will be no armed men.
Husbandry — Food. — There are a great many sayings
under these heads. They belong to a time when the
cultivation of the soil, though of a rude and primitive
kind, supplied the chief source of living to the popula-
tion, and was done with ploughs and not with spades,
when the great majority of the peasantry had horses,
cows, and sheep, of their own. Their food consisted
chiefly of oatmeal cakes, porridge, and gruel, butter and
cheese, occasionally fish, very rarely meat. One Gaelic
word peculiarly indicates the dependence of the Gael
on the soil — ' Teachd-an-tir,' the yield of the land, the
most common term for living, sustenance. Scarcity of
food, sometimes dearth, was not confined to the High-
lands two centuries ago, but it was naturally more
common in the remoter and least cultivated parts.
One of the sayings very exactly expresses the Highland
character in reference to food. A man can live on little,
hut not on nothing. Moderation in meat and drink
has always been a Highland characteristic. The use of
whisky is comparatively modern. Among the sayings
here collected it is only once mentioned by name, while
references to ale and wine are numerous.
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Early Gaelic Book Collections > Blair Collection > Collection of Gaelic proverbs and familiar phrases > (33) |
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Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/76277653 |
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Description | A selection of books from a collection of more than 500 titles, mostly on religious and literary topics. Also includes some material dealing with other Celtic languages and societies. Collection created towards the end of the 19th century by Lady Evelyn Stewart Murray. |
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Description | Selected items from five 'Special and Named Printed Collections'. Includes books in Gaelic and other Celtic languages, works about the Gaels, their languages, literature, culture and history. |
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