Blair Collection > Celtic magazine > Volume 3

238 THE CELTIC MAGAZINE.
gitcrtitxire.
DUILLEAGAIN A LEABHAR CUNNTAS AR BEATHA ANNS A GHADH-
ALLTACHD BHO 1848 (in 1861. Agus Aithris air Turusain Roimhe do
dh'Albalnn, a dKEirionn, agus do dh'Eileanain a Chaolais, Eadartheangaichte
le Uyhdaras a Morachd lets an Naomhaik I. P. St. Clair, Ministear Eaglais
Naomh Stephan am Peairt. Edinburgh : Edjeonston & Company.
The above imposing title, we may inform the reader, is Mr St Clair's
equivalent for " Leaves from the Journal of our Life in the Higlrlands, &c.,"
more widely known as the (^Mieen's Book. We commence this notice with
very mingled feelings, and delayed doing it so long to allow them to get back
into their normal condition after tlie shock produced by the first perusal
of this so-called translation. We also felt that it might be well to let
the rev. gentleman dispose of as many copies as jDOSsible before Ave expressed
our opinion on the wretched manner in which he has executed his self-
imposed task. This was hardly just to those of our readers who place
confidence in our views ; but they must forgive us for having been
favourably pre-disposed towards what we hoped would have been a lair
representation of the original, and for sympatliising not a little witli Mr
St Clair in what we considered to have been, with him, a labour of love.
The work is so execrably done that Ave cannot account for it on any other
hypothesis than the absolute incapacity of the rev. gentleman to complete
the task he in an evil hour imposed upon himself. Apart from all
consideration of the literary merit and success of the Avork, the want of
ordinary commercial forethought exhibited by the imbecile proceeding of
translating Her Majesty's Book into the provincial dialect of Perthshire is
amazing — a dialect, as rejn-esented in this Avork, whicli is infinitely more
difficult for an ordinary Gaelic reader to understand than that of Ireland.
It is just as luiAvise a proceeding to translate in such a Avretched jargon as
if an English Avriter wrote a popular book in the dialect of the Lancashhe
or Somersetshire hind. We are Avell acquainted with all the diil'erent
dialects in the Highlands except that of Perthsliire as given in this Avork.
We know several Perthshire Iliglilanders ui(f of tlie count// who can
speak and read intelligible Gaelic, but Ave have not met Avith any Avho
can read and understand the hotch-iiotch presented as the Gaelic of
Perthshire in this so-called translation of " Leaves from our Journal in the
Highlands," by tjie Rev. jNIr St Clair. We submit the following conim-
drum to our Gaelic readers. If any of them can make sense of it, or
translate it back into intelligible English, Avithout the aid of tlie original,
it is more than we, or any GaeHc scholar Avitli Avhom we are acquainted,
have been able to do. Here it is, from page ix. of the preface : —
Chan eil gin do am mumha durachd na do'n Bhilnrighinn, nach bitheadli sgarachd-
ainn cas sam bith eadar an iiou bhuidheann agus a bhuidheann eile, ach a mhain gum
bitheadli masgadh caoin nieasg cheile aun bhitheadh air thoirt muu cuairt troimh Ian
chomhachadh bhuanachdaia eatoirach, troimh malairt dhian a dheag oidhichean, agus
troimh urram cairdeil bhith air fhaireachdain agus air fhoillseachadh leis gach buidheana
do'a uile bhrathreaa auns a bhrathreachas nihor a tha deauamh nairj cinneach.
This is simply barbarous. Contrast it Avith its simple and graceful
original : —