( 192 )
work would be extremely valuable, since it would then facilitate the knowlege of a species of Poetry, which might serve to many useful purposes: but it has the misfortune to have become exceedingly obscure. However, as some persons of distinguished learning have undertaken to explain it, there is room to hope, that such curious Readers as are fond of researches of this kind, will shortly have nothing wanting to gratify their desires on this subject. What we know of it at present is, that their art of Versification consisted in combining together a number of syllables, with a regular repetition of the same letter at the beginning or end of each verse, at once resembling the nature of our modern Versification with rhyme, and the taste for acrosticks. Were this inquiry to be traced very far back, I believe we should find the original or model of this sort of Mechanism, to have been taken from some eastern nation, either from the ancient Persians or
that there is one of these remaining: if he means those of the Celtic nations in general, then it may be observed, that not only the British, but the Irish and Erse languages are Celtic; and in these are innumerable quantities of ancient verses still extant: but, I fear, none of these would receive much illustration from the Scaldic Rules. If he applies the word “Celtic” to the ancient verses of the Scalds themselves, then it may be remarked, that there is no want of them in the libraries of the north, or even in print. T.
