Books and other items printed in Gaelic from 1871 to 1900 > Sar-obair nam bard gaelach, or, The beauties of Gaelic poetry, and lives of the Highland bards

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SAR-OBAIR NAM BARD GAELACH.
'S rinn sinn an t-iomra rdidh tulganach,
Gun dearmad ;
S ghabh sinn deag long-phort aig barraibh,
Charraig Fhearghais;
Thilg sinn Acraichean gu socair,
Ann san rod sin ;
Ghabh sinn biadh a’s deoch gun airceas,
’S rinn sinn cbmhuuidh.
IAIN MAC CODRUM.
John jVPCodrum,* the North Uist bard, commonly called Iain Mac Fhearchuir, was
contemporary with the celebrated Alexander McDonald. He was bard to Sir James
Macdonald, who died at Rome. The occasion of his obtaining this situation was as
follows :—He made a satirical piece on all the tailors of the Long Island, at which they
were so exasperated that they would not work for him on any account. One consequence
of this was, that John soon became a literal tatterdemalion. Sir James meeting him one
day, inquired the reason of his being thus clad. John explained. Sir James desired him
to repeat the verses—which he did ; and the piece was so much to Sir James’s liking, that
John was forthwith promoted to be his bard, and obtained free lands on his estate in
North Uist. In a letter from Sir James Macdonald to Dr Blair of Edinburgh, relating
to the poems of Ossian, dated Isle of Skye, 10th October, 1763, we find Sir James
speaking as follows of Mac Codrum :—“ The few bards that are left among us, repeat
only detached pieces of these poems. I have often heard and understood them, particu¬
larly from one man called John Mac Codrum, who lives on my estate, in North Uist. I
have heard him repeat, for hours together, poems which seemed to me to be the same with
Macpherson’s translations.”
The first of M‘Codrum’s compositions was a severe and scurrilous satire. Being
young, and unnoticed, he was neglected to be invited to a wedding to which he consid¬
ered he had as good a right to be bidden as others. He was very indignant, and gave
vent to his feelings in the most severe invectives. He had the prudence to conceal his
name. The wredding party being minutely characterized, several of them lampooned, and
held up to derision, the poem gave great offence to some of those concerned. Although
the author was concealed, the satire could not be suppressed. Several individuals were
suspected, while the real author enjoyed the pleasure of knowing himself to be at the same
time a person of some consideration, and amply revenged for the neglect of those who
should have acknowledged it. His father only knew him to be the author. He was alone
about the farm : John was in the barn, whither his parent went, as he could hear no
• The Mac Codrums are not properly a clan, but a sept of the M‘Donalds. They belong to
North Uist.