Hew Morrison Collection > Adhamh agus Eubh, no Craobh Sheanachais nan Gàël

CELTTC LANGUAGE. 217
land niode, because productive of the same sound.
Slachdraich, expressive of the violent slash of a wavo
against the side of a ship, of which slaisdreadh, and
sluisdrcadh are a variety. Sèitrich, expressive of
the noise made when the wave is spoutedback outof
a cave, by compressed air. These are terms to be
found in M'Donald's poem ah-eady referred to ;
terms which the infants of Psammeticus were not
likely to be able to invent immuì-ed in a bothy in
Egypt. It is not expected of a mirror to reflect
more than what is placed before it, nor of the wax
to convey more than the impress of the seal ; and,
upon the same principle, a natural language can
never be formed without going forth to Nature.
" Ma gheibli sinn uine r'a fliaicinn,
Bheir sinn fùcadh mii seach aira'chlò,"
Of the Character P.
The letter P is necessarily pronounced in the
act oipushing. Let us figure a person sittingupon
a swing, and another preparing to push him : the
one about to push confìnes his breath to gain force,
his cheeks are now inflated, and the action being
over, now comes the sound p or pìi ; hence put, to
push so ; pùt e, push him from you. Similar to a
swing was the ancient process of producing butter.
Hasselquist, in liis travels (page 159), speaking of
an encampment of Arabs which he found not far
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