ds of his countrymen and clan. Many fragments of his
numerous songs continued for ages to be repeated in the country, but it
is feared, from all the changes which have taken place in the
circumstances of the natives, that these are now irretrievably lost.
Many of his witty sayings became proverbial in the island. He was one of
the first sportsmen in the country, and was considered one of the most
successful deer stalkers of his day. Along with his other
accomplishments he was an excellent performer on the violin, and in this
respect he had no equal in the Western Isles. Of him it may be justly
said:--

"To thee harmonious powers belong,
That add to verse the charm of song;
Soft melody with numbers join,
And make the poet half divine!"

As a proof of Lachlan Mackinnon's loyalty, it may be mentioned that,
quite contrary to the wishes of his chief, he went along with some other
loyal subjects, all the way from Skye to Inverness, in the year 1717, to
sign a congratulatory address to George I. on his succeeding to the
British throne. He spent the remainder of his days in his native isle
and parish, and died universally regretted in the year 1734, at the age
of sixty-nine. His funeral was attended by most of the Highland
chieftains, and their principal vassals. His cousin-german, Alasdair
Dubh of Glengarry, and all his gentlemen tacksmen were then present, as
also Macdonald of the Isles, Macleod of Dunvegan, Mackinnon of
Mackinnon, and Mackenzie of Applecross, with their chief retainers. A
numerous band of Highland pipers preceded the bier playing the usual
melancholy coronach. Amidst a vast assemblage of all ranks and classes
his remains were consigned to their kindred dust in the old churchyard
of Gillchrist, being the burying-ground of the parish which gave him
birth. A rude flag, with an inscription, still marks the poet's grave;
but the memory of his many virtues will be handed down in the place to
generations yet unborn.

_Lachlan Mac Thearlaich_ composed a beautiful and pathetic song which is
still preserved, to "Generosity, Love, and Liberality." He personified
those three, and pretended that he met them as lonely outcasts in a
dreary glen, and addressed them:--

Latha siubhal sleibhe dhomh,
'S mi 'falbh leam fein gu dluth,
A chuideachd anns an astar sin
Air gunna glaic a's cu,
Gun thachair clann rium anns a' ghleann,
A'gul gu fann chion iuil;
Air leam gur h-i