J. F. Campbell Collection > Sar-obair nam bard gaelach, or, The beauties of Gaelic poetry

11
Ml W.N A BHAIRO AOSDA.
MIANN A BIIAIRD AOSDA.
() càraibh mi ri taobh nan allt,
A shiubhlas mall le ceiimaibh ciùin,
I'd Bgàil a bharraieh leag mo cheann,
'S bi thus' a ghriati ro-chairdeil rium,
2,
Gu socair sin 's an fheur mo thaobh,
Air bruaich nan ditbean 's nan gaoth tl;i,
'Smo chas ga sliobadh 's a' bhraon mhaoth,
'S e lùbadh tharais caoin tro'n bhlàr.
*ì
Biodh BÒbfaraoh bhàn is aillidh snuadb,
M'an cuairt do'm thulaich is uain' fo' dbiiùchd,
'S an neòinean beag 's mo lamh air cluain,
'S an ealabhuidh' aig mo chluais gu h-ùr.
jMu'ii cuairt do bhroaehaibh àrd mo glilinn',
Blodh lùbadh gh£llg a's oira blà ;
'S claim bheag nam preaa a' tabhairt seiiin,
Do cbreagaìbh aosd' le òran gràtdh.
I>riseadh tro chreag nan eidbeanu dlù,
Am fuaran ùr le torramam trom,
'S freagraidh mac-talla gach dull,
Do dh' fhuaim srutha did nan toiin.
I
I-reagraidh gach cnoc, agus gach sliabb,
Le binn-fhuaim geur nan aigbean mear ;
'N sin cluinnidh mise mile geurn,
A' riuth man cuairt dumb 'n iar sail ear.
• Perhaps it is impossible, at this day, to decide with
any certainty to what part of the Highlands the Agro Baud
belonged, or at what time he flourished. Mrs (irant of
Lagga'n, who has given a metrical version of the above
poem, says, " It was composed in Skye," though upon wliat
authority she has net said. The poem itself seems to {fit.
nisli Wme evidence that at least the scene of it is laid in
Lochaber. Treig* is mentioned as having afforded drink
to the hinders. Now Loch Treig is in the braes of Loch-
aber. We know of no mountain which is now called Ben-
aid or Scur.eilt. Perhaps Ben-ard is another name for
Ken-nevis. The great waterfall, mentioned near the end
of the poem, may have been Eas-bhà, near Kinloch.leven
in Lochaber. The following is almost a literal translation
of the above poem :—
THE AGED BARD'S WISH.
O place me near the brooks, which slowly move with
gentle steps ; under the shade of the shooting branches
lay my head, and be thou, O sun, in kindness with me.
At ease lay my side on the grass, upon the bank of
flowers and soft zephyrs— ray feet bathed ill the wandering
stream that slowly winds along the plain.
Let the primrose pale, of grateful hue, and the little
daisy surround my hillock, greenest when bedewed; my
hand gently inclined, and the ealtli f at my car In its fresh-
ness.
Around the lofty brow of my glen let there he bending
boughs in full bloom, and the children of the bushes mak-
ing the aged rock re-echo their songs of love.
Let the new-born gurgling fountain gush from the ivy-
covered rock ; and let all-melodious echo respond to the
sound of the stream of ever-successive waves.
Lei the voice of every hill and mountain re-echo the
tweet sound of the joyous herd; then shall a thousand
lowing! be heard all around.
I,, t the frisking of calves be in my view, by the side of
a stream, or on the aclivity of a bill ; and let the wanton
kid, tired of its gambols, rest with its innocence on my
bosom.
Poured on the wing of the gentle breeze, let the plea-
dant voiee of Iambi BOtne to my ear; then shall the ewes
answer when they heir their young running towards them.
h.-rlj e.illiM Si Juiur, i
let me hear the hunter's step, with the sound of his
darts and the noise of his dogs upon the wide-extended
heath ; then youth shall beam on my cheek, when the
voice of hunting the deer shall arise.
The marrow of my bones shall awake when I hear the
noise of horns, of dogs, and of bow-strings ; and when the
cry is heard, " The stag is fallen," my heels shall leap in
joy aloiig the heights of the mountains.
Then methinks I see the hound that attended me early
and late, the hills which I was fond of haunting, and the
rocks which were wont to re-echo the lofty horn.
1 sec the cave that often hospitably received our steps
from night ; cheerfulness awaked at the warmth of her
trees;* and in the joys of her cups there was much mirth.
Then the smoke of the feast of deer arose ; our drink
from Treig, and the wave our music ; though ghosts should
shriek, and mountains roar, reclined in the cave, undis-
turbed was our rest.
1 see Ben-ard of beautiful curve, chief of a thousand
hills; the dreams of stags are in his locks, his head is the
bed of Clouds
I seeSrur-eilt on the brow of the glen, where the cuckoo
first raises her tuneful voice; and the beautiful green
hill of the thousand firs, of herbs, of roes, and of elks.
Let joyous ducklings swim swiftly on the pool of tall
pines. A strath of green tirs is at its head, bending the
red rowans over its banks.
Let the lieauteousswan of the snowy bosom glide on the
tops of the waves. When she soars on high among the
clouds she will be unencumbered.
She travels oft over the sea to the cold region of foaming
billows, where a sail shall never be spread out to a mast,
nor an oaken prow divide a wave.
lie thou by the summits of the mountains, the mourn-
ful tale of thy love in thy mouth, O swan, who hast tra.
relied from the land of waves; and may 1 listen to thy
music in the heights of heaven.
Up with thy gentle song; pour out the doleful tidings
of thy sorrow ; and let all-melodious echo take up the
strain from thy mouth.
Spread nut thy wing over the main. Add to thy swift-
ness from the strength of the wind. Pleasant to my ear
arc the cchoings of thy wounded heart— the song of
love.
• Allusion is here made to a fire of wood.