Blair Collection > Sar-obair nam bard gaelach, or, The beauties of Gaelic poetry, and lives of the Highland bards

URNAIGH IAIN RUAIDH.*
AiG taobh siut)iain iiashuidhe 's e sgith,
Thii 'n Criosdaidli boehd Iain Uuadli,
Na cheatliarnach thathasd gun skh,
Sa chas air tuisleadh sa 'n tim gu truagh.
Ma thig Duimhnich no Cataich am dhàil,
Mil 'n slaiiaich mo lùigheaniiaii ti'uagh,
Ged thig iad clio trie a's is àill,
Cha chuir iad orm lamli le luath's.
Ni mi 'n ubliaidhf rinii Peadar do Phàl,
'S a lùighean air f;is leiim bruaich,
Senchd paidir 'ii aiiiin Sagairt a's Pap,
Ga cliuir ris iia phlàsd mu'n cuairt.
* Having sprained his ankle wlicn under hiding, after
the battle uf Culloden, and while resting himself beside a
cataract, keeping his foot in the water, he composed the
above piece as a prayer, and the following stanzas in
English ; both of which he seems to have couched in the
style of language peculiar to the Pealms.
JOHN ROY STUART'S PSALM.
The Lord's the same as heretofore,
he's always good to me,
Though red-coats come a thousand more,
afraid I will not be.
Though they the woods do cut and burn,
and drain the writers dry ;
Nay, though the rocks they overturn,
and change the course of Spey :
Though they mow down both corn and grass,
and seek me under ground ;
Though hundreds guard each road and pass,
John Koy will not be found.
The Lord is just, lo ! here's a mark,
he's gracious and kind,
like fools gro)!
1 blind.
Though lately straight before their face,
they saw not where I stood ;
The Lord's my shade and hiding-place-
he's to mc always good.
Let me proclaim, both far and near,
o'er all the earth and sea,
That all with admiration hear,
how kind the Lord's to me.
Upon the pipe I'll sound his praise.
and dance upon my stumps.
A sweet new tune to it I'll raise,
and play it on my trumps. I
t An incantation of great antiquity, handed down to us j
from the classic era of Homer. It hasslUl its class of j
sturdy believers in many remote and pastoral districts of i
Ubhaidh eile as leith Mhuire nan gràs,
'S urrainn creideach dheanatìh slaii ri uair •
Tha mis' atn chreideamh gun teagamh. gun dail,
Gun toir sinn air ar naimhdean buaidh.
Sgeul eile 's gur h-oil learn gu'r fior,
Tha 'n drasd anns gach tir mu 'n cuairt,
Gach fear gleusda bha feumail do 'n righ,
Bhi ga 'n ruith feadh gach frith air an ruaig.
Bodaich dhona gun onair, gun bhrigh,
Ach gionach gu ni air son duais,
Gabliail fàth oirnn 's gach ait arm sa'm bi —
Cuir a chuibhie so' Chriosda mu'n cuairt !
Ma thionndas i deiseal an dr.'isd,
'S gu*m faigh Frangaich am Flannras buai',
Tha 'm earbs' as an targanachd bh;i,
Gu 'n tig armailt tiI st.'i dhuinn thar chuan.
the Highlands, 'i'he Editor well recollects with what self,
complacency and sangfroid the female Esculapii of his
native glen used to repeat the *' Eòlas sgiuf/uirth feithe,"
over the hapiesà hobbler of sprained ankles. With the
success or result of the procedure we have nothing to do : \
its efficacy was variously estimated. The ** Cantatum
orum" was a short oration of Crambo, in the vernacular
language; and if the dislocated joints did not jump into
their proper places during the recitation, the practitioner
never failed to augur favourably of comfort to the patient.
There were similar incantations for all the ills to which
human flesh is heir: the toothach, with all its excruciating
pain, could not withstand the potency of Highland magic ;
dysentery, gout, dysury, &x., had all their appropriate
remedies in the never-failing specifics of incantation. Nor
were these cures confined to the skilful hand of the female
necromancer alone ; an order of men, universally known
by the rognomen of the '* Cliarshcana-chain" were the
legitimate practitioners in the work. Two of these metrical
incantations we may briefly quote as specimens of the
whole. The first relates to the cure of worms in the
human body and runs thus : —
" Mharbhainn dubhag 's mharbhainn doirbheag,
A's naoi naoinear dheth a seòrsa.
•S fiolarcrion nan casan lionmhor,
Bu mhorpianadh airfeadh feòU," SiC.
Here follows the other, denominated ^'Eolasa Chronachm
aidh,'* or " Casg Seurn-Sufa." During its repetition, the
singular operation uf filling a bottle with water, was being
carried on ; and the incantation was so sung as to chime
with the gurgling of the liquid, as it was poured into the
vessel ; thus forming a sort of uncouth harmony, accord.
ing well with the wild and superstitious feelings of the
necromancers. From the fact that one or two Irish words
occur in it, and that the ch.nrm was performed in the
name of St I'atrick, it is probably of Irish origin ; but we
know tliat it held equally good iti the Highlands of Scotland
as it did across the Channel.
Deanamsa dhutsa, eolas air sul,
A uchd 'Ille Phàdruig naoimh.
Air at amhaich a's stad earabuill.
Air nai>i conair 's air naoi conriachair.
As airnaoibean seang sith.
Air sud seanna-ghdic 's sealla seanna-mhna.
Mas a soil firi, i lasadh mar lihigh,
Mas a siiil mnath i, i bhi dh'easbhnidh a clch,
Ealcadair fu.ir agus fuarachd da fuil,
Air an ni, 's air a daoine,
Air a crodh, *s air a caotrich fein.