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THE CELTIG MA.GAZINE. 179THE SOXGS AIs^DI\IELODIES OF THE GAEL.The Gael, their language, tlieir songs, and their melodies, -vvUllive or die together. If the one sinks they shall all sink. Ifthe one rises they shall all rise. If the one dies they shall die together,and shaU all be buried in the same grave. Is it possible that a people,with such a language, such songs, and such delicious melodies, shall vanishand disappear from the earth, and their place become occupied by others'?It cannot happen, and I candidly assert for myself that, Avere the whole ofthe Breadalbane Estate mine, I woidd -nollingly part with it for the sakeof being able to master the songs and the melodies of my Highlandcountrymen. I have reason to be thankful for the circumstances inwhich I was placed in the days of my youth. I had eight brothers anda sister. iMy father had a tine ear for music, and an excellent voice,and frequently gratified our young ears, during the long winter evenings,by playing on the Jew's harp and singing the words connected with thedifferent Highland airs. There was also a man in our immediate neighbourhoodwho was frequently in the house, who played on the violin, and Avhowas one of the best players of our native airs I ever listened to. Theconsequence was that as I grew np I was very fond of singing, and tothis moment of my life I do not think that it had any bad effect uponme ; and certainly my fondness for Gaelic songs was the first thing thatled me to read the Gaelic language. From fifteen to the age of twentyI herded my father's sheep among the Grampians. The following is atrue description of my state then :'Nuair bha e 'na bbalnchG\\ sunndacb, 's Ian aisthear,'S inac-talla 'ga aithrisA cantiiinn nan oran,Toirt air na cruaidh chreagan,Le 'a teangannan sgeigeil,Gu fileant 'ga fhreagradh,Gu ceileireach ceolmhor.A laddie so merry'Moiig green gi-ass and heatber,Tbe voice of tbe echoRebearsing his story :The mountains so rockyTo mimic and mock him,Becoming all vocalLike songsters so joyful.About the age of twenty a change came over me, when I forsook thesongs, but not their melodies, and had recourse to Buchanan's, M'Gregor's,and Grant's hynms as a source of gratification. I was, in a measure, preparedto enjoy them, as I found several of the melodies I used to sing, in thehymns. ]\I'Gregor was my great favourite. He was every inch a man, a Gael,a scholar, a po^t, a Christian, and a great divine. I regret that his hymnsare not more extensively known. Forty-two years ago I composed severalhymns—six or seven years afterwards a few more—but during the last tenyears, I suppose, nearly fifty. I have done as much as I could to regeneratethe songs of my country. My predecessors carefuUy avoided cheerful andlively airs, especially those with a chorus, but I find these generally,when the subject is applicable to them, the most powerful and the mostappropriate for use in connection with the preaching of the gospel. LastBummer I sang one of them in a Free Church, on a Sabbath evening, toN