eing the first original work printed in Scotch Gaelic.
His volume was therefore entitled _Ais-eiridh na Seann Chanain
Albannaich_ (Resurrection of the Ancient Scottish Tongue). Till the day
of his death he led a more or less wandering life, as he was dependent
on the generosity of Clanranald. Only a small part of Macdonald's
compositions have been preserved (thirty-one in all). These naturally
fall into three groups--love-songs, descriptive poems and patriotic and
Jacobite poems. In his love-songs and descriptive poems Macdonald struck
an entirely new note in Gaelic literature. His _Moladh Moraig_ and
_Cuachag an Fhasaich_ (also called _A'Bhanarach Dhonn_) are his
best-known compositions in the amatory style. But he is distinctly at
his best in the descriptive poems. We have already seen that even as
early as the 8th century the poets of Ireland gave expression to that
intimate love of nature which is perhaps the most striking feature in
Celtic verse. Macdonald had a wonderful command of his native Gaelic.
His verse is always musical, and his skilful use of epithet, often very
lavishly strewn, enables him to express with marvellous effect the
various aspects of nature in her gentler and sterner moods alike. His
masterpiece, the _Birlinn of Clanranald_, which is at the same time,
apart from Ossianic ballads, the longest poem in the language, describes
a voyage from South Uist to Carrickfergus. Here Macdonald excels in
describing the movement of the ship and the fury of the storm. In _Allt
an t-Siucair_ (The Sugar Brook) we are given an exquisite picture of a
beautiful scene in the country on a summer morning. Other similar poems
full of melody and colour are _Failte na Mor-thir_ (Hail to the
Mainland), _Oran an t-Samhraidh_ (Ode to Summer), and _Oran an
Gheamhraidh_ (Ode to Winter). When this gifted son of the muses
identified himself with the Stuart cause he poured forth a stream of
inspiring songs which have earned for him the title of the Tyrtaeus of
the Rebellion. Among these we may mention _Oran nam Fineachan Gaelach_
(The Song of the Clans), _Brosnachadh nam Fineachan gaidhealach_ (A Call
to the Highland Clans), and various songs to the prince. But
incomparably the finest of all is _Oran Luaighe no Fucaidh_ (Waulking
Song). Here the prince is addressed as a young girl with flowing locks
of yellow hair on her shoulders, and called Morag. She had gone away
over the seas, and the poet invokes her to return with a party