The Highland monthly - National Library of Scotland

190 The Hi^hlmid Monthly
the work ; and after I had named them all, his remark was,
" Oh yes, it will be the luorst Bible we ever have had."
On one occasion he went to assist a Communion in
(I know the place, but it is not necessary to name it). It
was arranged that Mr Cameron was to take the Gaelic
service, beginning at 11.30. After breakfast, Mr Cameron
went out for a short walk before the hour of service. He
reached a wood close by, and, sitting down at the root of a
shady tree, pulled an old Gaelic MS. out of his pocket.
He got so absorbed in the MS. that he forgot the Church
service ; and the pastor of the congregation, after waiting
and waiting, had to ascend the pulpit himself, and he was
half-way through the service when Mr Cameron came in
peching and sweating.
When he taught the Gaelic class in the Glasgow
University, he was invariably late of arriving, and wonderful
were his excuses to the class when he came in, 'na fhuil 's
'iiafkalhis. "Gentlemen,— I'm so sorry; I took the wrong
car, and was taken past my destination ;" or " I got so
absorbed in the lesson for the day, that I quite forgot
where I was till the car stopped at Partick."
Dr Cameron had that enthusiasm so necessary to a
teacher, but was too anxious to be absolutely correct to
impart even what he might have given as correct. He
would write down a word or phrase on the black-board,
then stand back and examine it critically for a few seconds,
and then say, " Yes, gentlemen, write that down," and then
all of a sudden he would exclaim, " Just wait a minute,
gentlemen, till I consider this apostrophe," and then he
would give a lecture on this particular apostrophe till the
hour was up. Ain bheil or a b'/keil wd^s a favourite theme
of his, likewise gu'n, " not gu-11, as Dr Clerk writes," he
would add with a smile. His examples for correction were
always taken from the writings of some one—whose name
he did not always disguise. How he delighted to have a
.fling at Drs Clerk and Maclauchlan's Bible, and how he
would smile when he would show how ridiculous the
.