Ossian Collection > Carmina gadelica > Volume 1

170 AIMSIRE
incense, to it, thereby securing immunity from its sting for himself and his seed
for ever.
' La Bride nam brig ban On the day of Bride of the white hills
Thig an rigen ran a torn, The noble queen will come from the knoll,
( !ha bhoin mise ris an rigen ran, I will not molest the noble queen,
'S cha bhoin an rigen ran rium.' Nor will the noble queen molest me.
These lines would seem to point to serpent-worship. One of the most curious
customs of Bride's Day was the pounding of the serpent in effigy. The following
scene was described to the writer by one who was present : — ' I was one of
several guests in the hospitable house of Mr. John Tolmie of Uignis, Skye. One
of my fellow-guests was Mrs. Macleod, widow of Major Macleod of Stein, and
daughter of Flora Macdonald. Mrs. Macleod was known among her friends as
" Major Ann." She combined the warmest of hearts with the sternest of manners,
and was the admiration of old and young for her wit, wisdom, and generosity.
When told that her son had fallen in a duel with the celebrated Glengarry — the
Ivor Maclvor of Waverley — she exclaimed, " Math thu fein mo ghiullan ! math thu
fein mo ghiullan ! gaol geal do mhathar fein ! Is fearr bas saoidh na gras daoidh,
cha bhasaich an gaisgeach ach an aon turns, ach an gealtair iomadaidh uair ! " — " Good
thou art my son ! good thou art my son ! thou the white love of thine own mother !
Better the hero's death than the craven's life ; the brave dies but once, the coward
many times." In a company of noblemen and gentlemen at Dunvegan Castle, Mrs.
Macleod, then in her 88th year, danced the reel of Tulloch aVid other reels, jigs,
and strathspeys as lightly as a girl in her teens. Wherever she was, all strove to
show Mrs. Macleod attention and to express the honour in which she was held.
She accepted all these honours and attentions with grace and dignity, and without
any trace of vanity or self-consciousness. One morning at breakfast at Uignis
some one remarked that this was the Day of Bride. "The Day of Bride," repeated
Mrs. Macleod meditatively, and with a dignified bow of apology rose from the
table. All watched her movements with eager curiosity. Mrs. Macleod went to
the fireside and took up the tongs and a bit of peat and walked out to the door-
step. She then took otf her stocking and put the peat into it, and pounded it with
the tongs. And as she pounded the peat on the step, she intoned a " rami," rune,
only one verse of which I can remember : —
" An diugh La Bride, This is the day of Bride,
Thig an righinn as an torn, The queen will come from the mound,
Cha bhean mise ris an righinn, I will not touch the queen,
Cha bhean an righinn rium." Nor will the queen touch me.
' Having pounded the peat and replaced her stocking, Mrs. Macleod returned
to the table, apologising for her remissness in not remembering the Day earlier in
the morning. I could not make out whether Mrs. Macleod was serious or acting,