?
My jewel, what would come o' thee?
"Sae at hame ye maun bide,
And should it sae betide
That a bride to another ye be,
For ane that lo'ed ye dear
Ye 'll whiles drap a tear;
I 'll aften do the same for thee, Mary,
I 'll aften do the same for thee."
The rowan tear down fell,
Her bosom wasna well,
For she sabbit most wofullie;
"Oure the yirth I wad gang,
And never count it lang,
But I fear ye carena for me, Willie,
But I fear ye carena for me."
Nae langer could he thole,
She tore his vera soul,
He dighted her bonnie blue e'e;
"Oh, what was it you said,
Oh my ain loving maid?
I 'll never love a woman but thee, Mary,
I 'll never love a woman but thee!"
The fae is forced to yield,
And freedom has the field;
"Away I will ne'er gang frae thee;
Only death shall us part,
Keep sic thoughts frae my heart,
But never shall part us the sea, Mary,
But never shall part us the sea."
METRICAL TRANSLATIONS
FROM
The Modern Gaelic Minstrelsy.
EVAN MACLACHLAN.
One of the most learned of the modern Gaelic song-writers, Evan
Maclachlan, was born in 1775, in a small hut called Torracaltuin, in the
district of Lochaber. After struggling with many difficulties in
obtaining the means of education, he qualified himself for the duties of
an itinerating tutor. In this capacity it was his good fortune to live
in the families of the substantial tenantry of the district, two of
whom, the farmers at Clunes and Glen Pean, were led to evince an
especial interest in his welfare. The localities of those early patrons
he has celebrated in his poetry. Another patron, the Chief of Glengarry,
supplied funds to enable him to proceed to the university, and he was
fortunate in gaining, by competition, a bursary or exhibition at King's
College, Aberdeen. For a Greek ode, on the generation of light, he
gained the prize granted for competition to the King's College by the
celebrated Dr Claudius Buchanan. Having held, during a period of years,
the office of librarian in King's College, he was in 1819 elected
master of the grammar school of Old Aberdeen. His death took place on
the 29th March 1822. To the preparation of a Gaelic dictionary he
devoted the most important part of his life. Subsequent to his decease,
the work was published in two quarto volumes, by the Highland Society,
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