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rant, but to confine ourselves to that kind of versification called Dan 

 direach, which is considered the most noble, and of which there are 

 five classes, called Deibhidhe, Seadna, Rannuigheachd mhor, Ran- 

 miigheachd hheag, and Casbhairn; in one or other of which, all the 

 poems attributed to Ossian, that are not of modern production, are 

 composed. In this kind of poetry there are seven requisites, namely, 

 a certain number of quartans in each Rann or Stanza ; a certain 

 number of syllables in each quartan; concord; correspo7idence ; point 

 and double-point; union; and chief or head. The four first of these 

 are indispensably necessary for each kind of the Dan direach, but 

 the three last are not. That class only which is called Deibhidhe, 

 requires the observance of point and double-point ; the union is always 

 found in the classes called Rannuigheachd mhor and Casbhairn ; 

 and the class of Rannuigheachd bheag, requires head or chief. 



For the purpose of understanding this subject still better, it is 

 necessary that the reader should know that Gaelic prosodians divide 

 the Gaelic alphabet into different classes, each letter of which concord 

 or correspond with the others of the same class. 



1st. — Three soft consonants, C. P. T. 



2nd. — Three hard consonants, B. D. G. 



3rd. — Three rough or harsh consonants, Ch. Th. F, 



4th. — Five stiff or strong consonants, Nn. LI. Rr. Me. Ng. 



5th.— Seven light consonants, DH. GH. BH. MH. L. N. R. 



6th. — The letter S, which will never make a concord with any 

 but another S, followed or preceded by similar letters ; thus 5 fol- 

 lowed by B. C. D., will concord with none but another SB. SC. 

 SD^, Sec, and when 5 following the article an requires a T prefixed, 

 it will correspond with none but another S similarly circumstanced. 

 The vowels correspond with each other indiscriminately. 



Every quartan consists of seven syllables fully pronounced, except 



