An gaidheal - National Library of Scotland

;Xovember, 187S. THE GAEL. 285died the power of inauguratinganotlier king was vested in theperson of C(jhunba. At the Councilof Drumceat, held in Ireland, heobtained the independence of theScoto-Dalriadic kingdom. Previousto this it was subject to the IrishDalriadic kingdom. So intimatelywas he connected with civil andmilitary affairs that, after his death,the Albans, when they went tobattle, were^wont to invoke his aid. Onone occasion when they were severel}'beset by the Lochlans, it is said,they used his crozier as a standard.In the same account it is mentionedthat by means of it they had ofteng'ained victory in battles.Witli this brief ntjtice of St.Columlia's comiection with the Scotsof Dah'iada it may be fitting toclose these rambling notices of theLegendary History of the Scots.R. Mac-an-Rothaich.(lAELIC GRAMMAR ANDORTHOGRAPHY.Sir,—The Rev. Mr. Cameron'srejoinder to my letter of the 19 thAugust is an amusing production.He evidently feels very sore athaving his statements called inquestion. One would have thoughtthat a person who so frequentlyacts as the censor of otherswould exhibit the utmost coolnessand composiU"e himself when remindedof his fallibility. Insteadof this, however, no sooner is theslightest drop of the acid of ciiticismallowed to fall upon his own backthan he instantly squirms up like atortured worm; takes to personalitiesand petty recriminations ; and drawinghimself up in tha full consciousnessof unapproachable superiority,affects to treat my strictui-es withlofty con tempt and very clumsy ironyhe returns, and for want of a moreeffective weapon demolishes hispigmy opponent with a mark ofexclamation.Mr. Cameron, at the very outset,seeks to open an old sore which hehimself, he takes care to tell us," very gently " closed up at a formertime. It appears, however, that henow regrets his extreme tendernesson that occasion, for he discloses adiscovery that he has made, namely,that I had not very accurately copiedfrom the M'Nicol MSS. for Leahharna Feinne, the ballad, " Oisean agusan Cleireach," which he also it seemscopied from the same MSS. andpiiblished with notes in the Gakl.All this, Mr. Editor, is irrelevant tothe point at issue, and is useful formy purpose only to show that''going out of the way " is not apeculiarity of which I alone deserveto be accused.Your correspondent in maintainingthat " a' bualadh caismeachd thiamhaidhthruaigh an eig " is perfectlycoxTect, is surprised that he shouldbe charged with falling into thesame error as Calum Ciobair. Hesays that Calum Ciobair erred innot using the genitive after theinfinitive [the verbal noun], whilehe, Mr, Cameron, did employ thegenitive. Their mistake consistedin the improper application of therule. His assertion that " caismeachd" is in the genitive governedby the infinitive, is contradictedby the two siicceeding adjectives" thiamhaidh " and " thruaigh," Itis scarcely necessary to mention whatevery tyro in Gaelic grammar knoAvs,—that the qualitative adjectivefollowing its noun, not predicatingof it, agrees with such noun ingender and case. Mr. Cameroncites an array of texts in support ofhis cause, appealing to the " almostthen rushing to the printer's font invariable usage of the translators of