the ruins of antient Rome, Carthage, Athens, or Palmyra; the contents of Herculaneum, a Grecian temple, an Egyptian pyramid, or Druidical circle; infpire the mind of every vifitant with the ardent enthusiasm of inquiry, and a multitude of forrowful thoughts on the inftability of the highest temporal grandeur, which, attended by a pleasing melancholy, leaves the mind calmly penfive, and gently perplexed. But when I look back into the former times of the Gael, whofe history a native might be fuppofed more immediately fond of, finding it fo much involved in obfcurity, or fuppreffed and obliterated by the policy of a neighbouring monarch, I could fit down and weep over its fall, execrating the policy of ufurping invaders, ever destructive to letters, hu, manity, and its rights,

There are not, however, wanting, at this day, proofs fufficient to fhew the Gael were once a very confiderable people. As late as the Roman invasion, all that part of Britain north of the Tweed and Solway Frith, with feveral counties of South Britain, and all Ireland, with the adjacent islands, was inhabited by the Gael. When the Romans retired, and ceased to be a people, other invaders infested their coafts. The Danes, at different times, either invaded or conquered different parts of Britain, and as often were repulfed. The Saxons, however, hav. ing gained a fettlement on the eastern coafts of South and North Britain, the Gael by degrees retreated to the north and western parts of Albin, as their inva, ders, the Scoti of the Low Countries, gained ground.

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The different kingdoms of England, after some time, uniting and forming one great monarchy, became too powerful for the inhabitants of the Low Countries of Scotland, and obliged the Gael and the Gaill, or the ftrangers of the Low Countries, for the ge, neral fecurity, likewife to become one, in oppofition to the English. The feat of government, which fled before the Romans to the weft and the islands, where the Palladium had hitherto remained fecure, at this period having no enemy north of the Tweed, was removed to Scoone, afterwards to Dunfermling, thence to Edinburgh, and at laft is arrived at Weftminster. The Kings of Scotland, with the court, now refiding in thofe parts where a dialect of the Saxon was spoken, and having in times of peace greater intercourfe with the English, the Scots at length became the court language. From this pe, riod we may date the decline of the Galic.

All charters, deeds, records, and laws were now written in Latin or Scots. And the monafteries being pillaged by Edward, whatever was valuable in literature was entirely loft. Ireland, which hither. to was fubjected by no foreign lord, nor diftreffed by the encroachments of a neighbouring state, except fome temporary invasions by the Danes, quietly enjoyed the ufe of its laws, language, and liber. ties. It was at this juncture that the Irish Seanachies and annalifts (when the Scots having thrown off their extorted allegiance to England, their annals and records being irrecoverably deftroyed by Edward, wifhed to have fome account of their own ori

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gin) invented their hyperbolic and incredible Milefian expedition from Egypt and Spain to Ireland, and thence to Scotland by the promontories of Galloway and Ceantire. Fordun, having no other materials, at once adopted this fyftem, which gained univerfally in Scotland, until the ingenious Mr Macpherfon published his Introduction to the Hiftory of Great Britain and Ireland. Whilft Roman learning, by the medium of a dialect of the Saxon, now flourished in Scotland, the Galic and Roman in fome degree grew together in Ireland, which, for fome centuries, was deemed the greatest school for learning in Europe. There letters and learned men, from all countries, found a fecure retreat and afy. lum. Its happy fituation, however, did not perpetuate these bleffings. Ireland was invaded by the Danes, and, in a subsequent age, made fubject to the Kings of England. Though there were English colonies in Ireland, the Gael of that country enjoyed their own laws and cuftoms till the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. when the English laws were univerfally established. Then, for the first time, the Galic ceafed to be spoken by the chiefs of families, and at court; and English schools were erected, with strict injunctions, that the vernacular language fhould no longer be spoken in these feminaries. This is the reason why the Iberno-Galic has more MSS. and books than the Caledonian. In Scotland there has been a general destruction of antient records and books, which Ireland efcaped. It enjoyed its own laws and language till a later date, whilft the ScotsEnglish

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English very early became the established language in North Britain.

In this fituation I found the Galic, with few books, and fewer MSS. in the living voice of many thousands who entirely neglected it. The firft Galic printed book ever known in Scotland, is the Irish tranflation of the Bible and New Teftament. It underwent two impreffions, one in the Irish, and the other in the Roman letter, but is now to be met with only in the libraries of the curious. Though the Bible be the common book of Chriftians, and to be met with in the language of every Proteftant country, yet in Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland, it is at this day a curiofity. Notwithstanding that onethird of the minifters of the Church of Scotland, fince the Reformation, daily preached in Galic, fo little zeal for their own language prevailed, that the Bible is not yet tranflated; and it is within these ten years the New Teftament has been attempted by one of their minifters. The Confeffion of Faith, and the Pfalms in metre, both imitations of the Irish dialect, have been tranflated by the Synod of Argyle; and fince, there have appeared three collections of fongs and poems, all of which, though there be merit in the compofition, are, however, wretchedly orthographied. By Mr Macdonald there has been a Vocabulary published at the expence of the Society for propagating Christian Knowledge in the Highlands, in which most things are expreffed by circumlocution.

Mr

Mr Macfarlane, late minister at Killinvir, Argylehire, tranflated Baxter's Call to the Unconverted. He understood the Galic well, and was a Grammarian; but his poetry is more forced than natural. Had others, however, been equally zealous, the language would have had many books, and been better understood by those who every day speak it. But at prefent I much doubt whether there be four men in Scotland that would spell one page the fame way; for it has hitherto been left to the caprice and judgment of every fpeaker, without the fteadiness of analogy or direction of rules. The tafte, at this day, of the clergy, a lettered and refpectable order, is to understand the English, content with what Galic enables them to translate a fermon they originally wrote in English. And although they are obliged to speak in public once in feven days, there are not five minifters in Scotland who write their dif courses in their own tongue; yet there are several ambitious to be reputed the tranflators of a few lines of Galic poetry.

The improvement of the country, as well as the minds of the inhabitants, has been ftrangely neglected, in an age when every other country emerges from obfcurity and ignorance, till fome changes were forced upon them by a late law, I fhall not fay how politic. To fee a people, naturally capable of every improvement, though once mifled by ignorance, ftripped of their ancient habits and cuftoms, and deprived of the Scriptures in their own tongue, the right of Chriftians, never denied to the most favage Indians