Steve Blamires, biographer of William Sharp, has stated that there exists published negative criticism of
'Fiona Macleod" 's command of Scottish Gaelic,
that contemporary writers complained that the Gaelic was 'poor'.

As I am the last person who can judge, it occurred to me to
submit to this thread some examples of the Gaelic verse embedded in the Sharp/Macleod fiction canon, along with the English translations attached to each by their author.
Then comments or criticism from Mudcatters -- or GUESTs -- would be welcome.


Here is an example.

Tha 'n la nis air falbh ùainn,
Tha 'n oidhche 'tighinn orm dlùth;
'S ni mise luidhe gu dion
Fo dhubhar sgiath mo rùin.

O gach cunnart 's o gach bàs,
'S o gach nàmhaid th' aig Mac Dhe,
O nàdur dhaoine borba,
'S o choirbteachd mo nàduir fèin,
Gabhaidh mis' a nis armachd Dhe,
Gun bhi reubta no brisd',
'Sge b' oil leis an t' sàtan 's le phàirt
Bi 'dh mis' air mo gheàrd a nis.

The day is now gone;
Dark night gathers around,
And I will lay me safely down [to sleep]
Under the shadow of my Beloved One's wing.
Against all dangers, and death in every form,
Against each enemy of God's good Son,
Against the anger of the turbulent people,
And against the corruption of my own nature,
I will take unto me the armour of God --
That shall protect me from all assaults:
And in spite of Satan and all his following,
I shall be well and surely guarded.

-- pages 71 - 72, chapter III of
Pharais. A Romance of the Isles, by Fiona Macleod, Derby: Harpur & Murray, 1894.



And, while the topic is the Scottish Gaelic, here let me include the footnote
in which the Author justifies his spelling of the word in the title.

A slightly anglicised lection of the Gaelic word Pàras = Paradise, Heaven.
"Pharais," properly, is the genitive and dative case of Pàras,
as in the line from Muireadhach Albannach, quoted after the title page,
"Mithich domh triall gu tigh Pharais" --   
"It is time for me to go up unto the House of Paradise."
-- page x, preface of the preceding book