Blair Collection > Practical grammar of the antient Gaelic, or, Language of the Isle of Man, usually called Manks

LIFE OF DR. KELLY. XXlll
one, Manx and English; the other, a triglot of Manx, Gaelic,
and Irish, based upon English. Nothing daunted at the magni-
tude of the undertaking, he entered upon it with zeal, and pur-
sued it with untiring perseverance to the end of his days. Both
these works are still lying in nianusci'ijjt, but complete, and
ready for the press.
The printing of the Triglot, more properly Polyglot, had
actually commenced in 1807, and had proceeded as far as the
letter L, when a fire broke out in the printing-office, that of
Nichols and Son, Red Lion-passage, Fleet-street, London, and
destroyed the whole impression, except one or two copies. The
manuscript was happily preserved. We of the present day have
perhaps no cause to regret the accident, as it afforded opportunity
to the indefatigable author to go on, as he did to the end of his
life, enlarging and correcting his work, and leaving us his latest
emendations.
A writer in the Mona's Herald, of Feb. 2, 1859, speaking of
the Triglot, says — " It consists of four columns in each page.
The first contains the English word ; the second, the Manx ; the
third, the Irish ; and the fourth, the Scottish Gaelic. It is the
only attempt ever made to publish a complete triglot comparison
of the three branches of the Celtic language. If another column
were added for the Welsh, the dictionary would be more perfect
and national, exhibiting atone view the four great living branches
of the language of the Gael or Cwmry, the original inhabitants
of the British Isles. Surely, the publication of such a work as
this ought to be encouraged. The Isle of Man, as the central
island, and the ancient seat of Celtic religion, literature, and
laws, may be expected to take the lead ; and Dr. Kelly^s Manx
Dictionary may be the basis of the work. But, Irish, Gaelic,