tion. If a more rational spelling
were generally adopted, an immense number of Lowlanders who are
interested in philology, would study the grand old tongue, were it only
to understand the numberless place names of Celtic origin that occur in
British geography.

What I have said about Gaelic spelling explains the inability of a large
percentage of the population to read a book printed in the native idiom.
What is the use then, it may be asked, of translating the _True Story
Book_? The answer is obvious to one who knows the Highlands. In the
Outer Isles there are many old people who know no English and whose only
literary solace comes from listening to others reading. At the evening
_ceilidh_ a competent reader of Gaelic can usually be found. Then,
again, we are likely to see, in the near future, a notable revival of
interest in the old language, consequent on the efforts of the _Mod_,
and on the recognition of Gaelic by the Department as a fit subject of
study in the Highland schools. Such a revival, to be lasting in its
effects, must be enforced and sustained by a constant supply of pure and
interesting Gaelic books, both native and translated. Religious books
there are in abundance, thanks to the zeal of the Protestant clergy.
Needless to say, the compilations of the Dean of Lismore are as
unintelligible to the modern Gael as Cynewulf is to a London cab-driver.
I should like to see a round dozen of good English novels put into
Gaelic by translators who knew the idiom thoroughly.

The fervour displayed at Highland gatherings, admirable as it is from a
sentimental point of view, is apt to grow cold at the prospect of
laborious work to be done. It is not creditable that the great majority
of Gaelic speakers are unable to read a page of Gaelic print. Nor is it
creditable that those who can both read and speak, do so little for the
interpretation of the literature. Blackie's books and translations are
still among the best, and Blackie was a Lowlander, was born, indeed, in
the Saltmarket of Glasgow. My frequent visits to the north and west have
convinced me that another difficulty in the way of a possible resurgence
of Gaelic is the lack of a recognised standard of colloquial speech. The
language is split up into many dialects, each possessing its own special
idioms and vocabulary. A Glasgow firm of printers not long ago conceived
the idea of printing post-cards with Gaelic greetings: they found that
every city Highlander t