1905
“There is a great serenity in the thought of death, when it is known to be the Gate of Life.”
Fiona Macleod.
April my husband spent in the West of Scotland, for which he pined; and on his way North broke his journey in Edinburgh whence he wrote to Mr. W. J. Robertson, the translator into English verse of A Century of the French poets of the XIX Century:
April, 1905.
Dear Mr. Robertson,
After our most pleasant evening à deux I had a comfortable journey north: and last night luxuriated in getting to bed early (a rare thing for me) with the sure and certain knowledge there would be no glorious resurrection therefrom at any untimely hour. So after sleeping the sleep of the true Gael—who is said to put 85 to the poor Sassenach 40 winks—I woke in peace. I was thereafter having a cigarette over the Scotsman when my youngest (and secretary) sister brought me my letters, papers, etc. and with them a long narrow box which I soon discovered to be your generous gift of 100 of these delectable Indian cigars. It is very good of you indeed, and I am grateful, and may the ancient Gaelic God Dia-Cheo, God of Smoke, grant you remission of all your philological sins and derivative ‘howlers’—and the more so as there is no authority for any such god, and the name would signify hill-mist instead of pipe-smoke! And may I have a himdred ‘rèves de Notre Dame de Nicotine!’ I couldn’t resist trying one. Wholly excellent. And in the meditative fumes I arrived through intuition at the following derivation which I hope will find a place in your book:
Roab ancient Celtic for a Good Fellow
H’Errt—” ———” –” –Smoke-Maker or Smoke-Bestower
’s contraction for Agus ‘and’,
Onn ancient Celtic for ‘May Heaven Bless’
W. J. ancient Celtic Tribal tattoo——
which, assisted in dreams by the spirits of Windisch, D’Arbois de Jubainville, Loth, Whitley Stokes and Kuno Meyer, I take to be W. J. Roab-H’Errt-S-onn—i. e. Bill-Jack, or in mod. English ‘William John’ of the Clan of Heaven-Blessed Friendly Smokers—i. e. William John of the Roaberrtsson, or Robertson Clan. This of course disposes of Donnachie once and for all.