词条 | Ulva in literature and the arts |
释义 |
Ulva in literature and the arts refers to the literary and artistic connections to the island of Ulva in the Hebrides of Scotland. During the 18th and 19th centuries in particular many famous literary figures visited the island including Dr Johnson, Walter Scott and James Hogg and there are numerous written works about the island as a result. The island also had a piping school at one time and Beatrix Potter was a visitor during the 20th century. Boswell and JohnsonDr Johnson and Boswell visited The MacQuarrie on Ulva in October 1773, the year after Sir Joseph Banks brought Staffa to the English-speaking world's attention. Perhaps aware that Banks considered that the columnar basalt cliff formations on Ulva called "The Castles" rivalled Staffa's[1] Johnson wrote:
Both men left separate accounts of the visit, Johnson in A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (18 January 1775) and Boswell in Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D (1785). They arrived on Saturday, 16 October, and left the following day. Johnson wrote:
Boswell said:
Boswell was not impressed with Macquarrie's house, but appears to have enjoyed the company:
Johnson too admired the antiquity of the family, but did not care for the landscape too much:
Great though the age of the Macquarries may have been, it appears at this point that they were considering selling it, and that the house was in a state of disrepair, despite the hospitality:
Johnson heard later on that the island had been sold to Capt. Dugald Campbell of Achnaba, and wrote to him:
Scott, Hogg and other visitorsBoswell and Johnson were not the only famous non-Highland visitors to the island. Walter Scott and James Hogg also visited the islands some decades later.[4] In 1810 Scott discussed the prospect of a visit, which he describes as a "jaunt":
Scott was struck by the contrast between Ulva and the nearby island of Inchkenneth: "... a most beautiful islet of the most verdant green, while all the neighbouring shore of Greban, as well as the large islands of Colinsay and Ulva, are as black as heath can make them. But Ulva has a good anchorage, and Inchkenneth is surrounded by shoals." By the time, Scott visited the "mean" house of Boswell's journal was gone, and replaced by one from a design by Robert Adam. This in turn has been destroyed, and the current Ulva House is on its site.[6] Hogg wrote some graffiti on the wall of Ulva Inn, now lost due to its burning down in 1880: I've roamed around the creeks and headlands of Mull,Their fields are uncultured and cussedly weedy,Their hard lands are bare and their havens dull,Their folks may be brave, but they're cussedly greedy. Naturally, the locals were slightly upset by this, and the Minister of Ulva, Rev. MacLeod wrote the following reply, with a sly pun referring to Jesus' Discourse on holiness from the Sermon on the Mount: Ho! Shepherd of Ettrick,Why sorely complain,Though the boatman be greedy for grog?The beauties of Staffa,by this we proclaim,Are like pearls cast away on a Hogg[7] After his visit, Walter Scott used Ulva as material for various works, for example, in his 1815 poem, Lord of the Isles (Canto 4) And Ulva dark, and Colonsay, And all the group of islets gay That guard famed Staffa round.[8] The Colonsay referred to here, is probably nearby Little Colonsay rather than Colonsay itself. In Tales of a Grandfather, Scott tells the story of "Alan-a-Sop" (an anglicisation of the Gaelic for "Alan of the straw", so called because he was born "on a heap of straw") who was born the illegitimate son of the Maclean of Duart in the 16th century. In his youth, Alan-a-Sop was treated badly by his stepfather, one Maclean of Torloisk. He grew up to be a pirate and eventually took a bloody revenge on Torloisk with the help of MacQuarrie of Ulva.[9] Many other visitors to neighbouring Staffa stayed at Ulva Inn, this included Keats, Mendelssohn, and William Wordsworth.[7] David LivingstoneThe famous Scottish missionary and explorer of Africa, David Livingstone recounted how his ancestors had originally come from Ulva. "Our great-grandfather fell at the battle of Culloden, fighting for the old line of kings; and our grandfather was a small farmer in Ulva, where my father was born." Livingstone recounted how Ulva had a great store of folklore, and legends, which his grandfather told them:
Now, in my lifetime, I have searched most carefully through all the traditions I could find of our family, and I never could discover that there was a dishonest man among our forefathers. If, therefore, any of you or any of your children should take to dishonest ways, it will not be because it runs in our blood: it does not belong to you. I leave this precept with you: Be honest." Livingstone also recorded the religion of the yellow stick, which is more connected with the Small Isles. If, therefore, in the following pages I fall into any errors, I hope they will be dealt with as honest mistakes, and not as indicating that I have forgotten our ancient motto. This event took place at a time when the Highlanders, according to Macaulay, were much like the Cape Caffres [kaffirs], and any one, it was said, could escape punishment for cattle-stealing by presenting a share of the plunder to his chieftain. Our ancestors were Roman Catholics; they were made Protestants by the laird coming round with a man having a yellow staff, which would seem to have attracted more attention than his teaching, for the new religion went long afterward, perhaps it does so still, by the name of “the religion of the yellow stick”. Like many Gaels in the 19th century, Livingstone's grandfather was forced to emigrate to the Lowlands for work: "Finding his farm in Ulva insufficient to support a numerous family, my grandfather removed to Blantyre Works, a large cotton manufactory on the beautiful Clyde, above Glasgow; and his sons, having had the best education the Hebrides afforded, were gladly received as clerks by the proprietors, Monteith and Co. He himself, highly esteemed for his unflinching honesty, was employed in the conveyance of large sums of money from Glasgow to the works, and in old age was, according to the custom of that company, pensioned off, so as to spend his declining years in ease and comfort." Andrew Ross says David Livingstone was the second son of Neil Livingston (known as "Niall Beag", wee Neil,[10] or "Niall MacDhun-lèibhe"), who was born on Ulva in 1788, who was in turn the son of another Neil. He also claims that the family stories do not quite fit, and that it is unlikely that he was a descendant of a Culloden combatant. A Mull legend also says that Neil (grandfather) may have been driven from his house by redcoats in the middle of a snowstorm. However, there is no evidence for this.[11] He also notes that Neil's church on Ulva had given the following letter of recommendation of their parishioner, something no doubt David was proud of. "The bearer, Neil Livingstone, a married man in Ulva, part of the parish of Kilninian, has always maintained an unblemished moral character, and is known for a man of piety and religion. He has a family of four sons, the youngest of which is three years, and three daughters, of which the youngest is six years of age. As he proposes to offer his services at some of the cotton-spinning manufactories, he and his wife Mary Morrison, and their family of children is hereby recommended for suitable encouragement. "Given at Ulva, this eighth day of January, 1792, by "Arch. McArthur, Minister "Lach. Mclean, Elder "R.S. Stewart JP, Elder"[10][11] MacArthur's piping schoolA piper named MacArthur set up a famous piping school on Ulva in the 18th century. He himself was trained by the great MacCrimmon dynasty of Skye, whose piping skills were legendary in Gaeldom.[4] The MacArthurs themselves were said to be amongst the greatest bagpipers to come out of Scotland. Allen writes: The MacCrimmons and the MacArthurs were said to have been the finest pipers and exponents of the piobaireachd and history relates great rivalry between the families for supremacy. Both the MacCrimmons and the MacArthurs had colleges for piping students; the former on the farm of Boreraig, eight miles [13 km] south west of Dunvegan Castle on Skye, the latter at Ulva near Mull. For the MacCrimmon pupils seven years study was necessary in their apprenticeship. The pupils had a solitary designated area of open space in which to practice the scales and tunes on the chanter, the Small Pipes and Piob Mhòr before being allowed to perform for their Master Tutor. The college at Ulva had four rooms; one for cattle, one for guests to stay, one for practice and one specifically for the use of students. In both cases the countryside was preferred for practice as was, and still is, deemed correct for the Piob Mhòr.[12] Lord Ullin's DaughterThe most famous commemoration of Ulva in literature is Thomas Campbell's poem, Lord Ullin's Daughter, written after the writer had visited the region. The opening two stanzas are as follows: A CHIEFTAIN to the Highlands bound Cries, "Boatman, do not tarry! And I'll give thee a silver pound To row us o'er the ferry!" "Now who be ye would cross Lochgyle, This dark and stormy water?" "O I'm the chief of Ulva's isle, And this, Lord Ullin's daughter. Moladh UlbhaMoladh Ulbha (In Praise of Ulva) is a song written by the Ulbhach, Colin Fletcher (Cailean Mac an Fhleisdeir).[10] It was transcribed by the Rev. MacKenzie. This is the first verse. Mi 'nam shuidhe 'n seo leam fhèin Smaoinich mi gun innsinn sgeul Na làithean sona bh' agam fhèin Nuair bha mi òg an Ulbha (Trans.: Me sitting here by myself I thought I'd tell a story, The happy days I had myself When I was young in Ulva) Other authorsThe Rev. Donald MacKenzie (Dòmhnall MacCoinnich), father of the author of As It Was, was a noted Gaelic-language author in his own right. He was born in Lewis, and his ancestors were from Harris, but he spent a number of years in Ulva itself, from June 1918 onwards. He was formerly minister in Rothesay. Amongst his achievements was a large number of translations of the poems of Robert Burns.[13] He was the last minister on the island. John MacCormick ({{lang-gd|Iain MacCormaig}}; 1870–1947), the author of the first full length Scottish Gaelic novel, Dùn Aluinn (1912) [13] was an occasional visitor to the island. He wrote a number of short stories, non-fiction and a novella. He came from Mull, and was a distant relative of the politician of the same name and Neil MacCormick[10] English children's writer, Beatrix Potter (1866–1943) also visited Ulva from time to time. She was a relative of the Clark family, and The Tale of Mr. Tod (1912) is dedicated to F.W. Clark (III - grandson of the man who bought the island). The dedication says rather cryptically: "FOR FRANCIS WILLIAM OF ULVA — SOMEDAY!" [14] Curiously, although the main characters of the book are a fox (tod) and a badger (brock), neither species can be found on Ulva. ReferencesNotes1. ^MacNab, Peter (1993) Mull and Iona: Highways and Byways. Edinburgh. Luath Press. 2. ^1 2 Johnson, Samuel (1775) A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland. London. Chapman & Dodd. (1924 edition). 3. ^Johnson, Samuel (1777) Letter to Capt. Dugald Campbell 4. ^1 Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 102-05 5. ^Scott, Walter (1810) Letter to George Ellis 6. ^Haswell-Smith, Hamish "Where the wild things are" (23 October 2004) Edinburgh. The Scotsman. Retrieved 3 November 2007. 7. ^1 Howard, J. & Jones, A., The Isle of Ulva: A Visitor's Guide, published by Ulva Estate, (2004) 8. ^Scott, Walter (1815)The Lord of the Isles. 9. ^"MacQuarrie" ElectricScotland.com. Retrieved 10 November 2007 10. ^1 2 3 MacKenzie, Donald W. R. (16 May 2000) As It Was/Sin Mar a Bha: A Ulva Boyhood Birlinn Ltd {{ISBN|978-1-84158-042-5}} 11. ^1 Ross, Andrew. (2006) David Livingstone: Mission and Empire. Continuum International Publishing Group. Pages 1-3 {{ISBN|1-85285-565-7}} 12. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.nefa.net/archive/songmusicdance/pipes/peace.htm|title=Bagpipes in Peacetime|work=The North East Folklore Archive|publisher=Aberdeenshire Council|first=Greg Dawson|last=Allen|accessdate=2007-11-06}} 13. ^1 Thomson, Derick (ed). (1994) "MacKenzie, Donald W." in The Companion to Gaelic Scotland Gairm Publications (Glasgow). {{ISBN|0-631-15578-3}} 14. ^Potter, Beatrix, The Tale of Mr. Tod, Frederick Warne, London, 1912 General references{{refbegin}}
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