Hew Morrison Collection > Gaidheal > 1 Leabh 2 Air

250
THE GAEL
Nov., 1872.
groping my way in the same direction witli
very little leisure time, aud no assistanee
except my nearly -worn out knowledge of
Latin and Greek, aud recent'y acquired
knowledge of Welsh aud Armonic. 1 there-
fore hail" with delight the idea of having
a compilation as you shadow forth — a
Gaelic Comparative Lexicon. It would bo
of the greatest importance to the Gaelic
student. It would be the means of attract-
ing more attention to the antiquity and
virtue of the language, and wiping away
the stigma, that even Germans aud other
foreigners know more about the Gaelic
philolog cally than those whose language it
is. 'Ihe undertaking would, doubtless, be
an arduous one, requiring much and varied
study, much learning and great research,
yet not insurmountable. 1 observe, with
delight, in your concluding remarks, that,
were encouragement given, and were Iligh-
landeis resolved, '* shoulder to shoulder," to
help the matter forward, a promise was
given by the Rev. Mr Cameron to have such
a great work undertaken.
As a Highlander willing to bear a hand,
I accept the challenge by offering at ou' e
to subscribe a live pound note to begin with,
more if fuiind necessary, and take several
copies of the work when published. I hope
every patriotic Highlander will do the same.
You, sir, will raise the lasting gratitude
of every real Highlander, who has any love
left in him for the language of his fore-
fathers, by agitating further th s undertak-
ing, aud the support, and the encourage-
ment, to undertake so desirable a Avork.
I shall be heartily glad to hear more of
the scheme, and to hear that it has a pro-
spect of success. — Ever yours sincerely,
John Mackay.
[It is with the greatest pleasure we in-
sert Mr Mackay 's letter, and we hope that
other lliglilanders, at home and abroad,
•will follow his examp'e, not merely by
telling what ought and might.be done, but
by showing what they can do, and are willing
to do ; and, finnlly, we are confident that
Mr Cameron's ability to execute the task is
a full guarantee for the Cklt every-
where, to follow in the good path which
Mr Mackay has so munificently opened ujp.]
thing that Professor Blackie does in show-
ing the affinities of the Gaelic language,
I cannot allow him to run away with
the harrows at pleasure. The word Tigh-
earn (in its aspirated form "Thighearu")
he considers is derived from the Latia
" Tego," a shelter, a house. I beg to state
that the word has no connection with
"Tigh" (more prop rly taigh), a house.
"Tighearu" is compounded of " Ti," an
individual or person, and " tharainn " over
us, the word therefore meaning the indi-
vidual who is over or above us, and equally
applicable to " Tighearn " neimh and
"Jighearn" an fhearainn. 1 hough the
first syllable " Tigh " has a resemblance to
"tigli," a house, yet the " gh " is no part
of the word " ti." The "gh" is only
used to keep the vowels from coalescing, as
in many instances "dh," "mh," " bh,"
" gh,'' " th," &c., the real pronunciation of
the word is "Tiarna."
Argathaliax.
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
We are sorry that the sketch of Wm.
Livingstone's Life has been unavoidably
postponed.
Books Received.—" Celtic Origin of
Greek and Latin," by Dr Stratton ; also, by
the same author, " The Affinity between
the Hebrew Language and the Celtic ; "
•'Lays of the Highlands and Islands," by
Professor Blackie ; " Leabhar na Feinne,"
by J. F. Campbell ; " College Irish
Grammar," by Professor Bourke ; also,
by the same author, " Easy Lessons in
Irish ; " " Historical Map of the Clans,"
by Col. Robertson and T. B. Johnstone ;
&c., &c.
THE GAELIC "GOD SAVE THE
QUEEN."
(To the Editor of The Gael.)
Sir, — Although a great admirer of every.
We arc glad to inform our readers
that the "Netlicr-Lochaber" corre-
spondent of the Inverness Courier has
kindly consented to superintend a
poetical column — original and select —
in the -winter and spring numbers of
The Gael. Under the charge of a
gentleman so thoroughly qualified to
execute the task, -we arc confident that
this column shall be hailed with delight
by all lovers of the killed muse. Mr
Stewart's first contribution will appear
iu our next.