son of Lachlan, son of Niel Mòr, son of Lachlan, son of Donald, of the surname of Mac Vuirich, before Roderick M'Neil, Esq. of Barra, and declared, That, according to the best of his knowledge, he is the eighteenth in descent from Muireach, whose posterity had officiated as bards to the family of Clanronald; and that they had from that time, as the salary of their office, the farm of Staoiligary and four pennies of Drimisdale during fifteen generations; that the sixteenth descendant lost the four pennies of Drimisdale, but that the seventeenth descendant retained the farm of Staoiligary for nineteen years of his life. That there was a right given them over these lands as long as there should be any of the posterity of Muireach to preserve and continue the genealogy and history of the Macdonalds, on condition that the bard, failing of male issue, was to educate his brother's son, or representative, in order to preserve their title to the lands; and that it was in pursuance of this custom that his own father, Niel, had been taught to read and write history and poetry by Donald son of Niel, son of Donald, his father's brother.

He remembers well that works of Ossian written on parchment, were in the custody of his father, as received from his predecessors; that some of the parchments were made up in the form of books, and that others were loose and separate, which contained the works of other bards besides those of Ossian.

He remembers that his father had a book which was called the Red Book, made of paper, which he had from his ́predecessors, and which, as his father informed him, contained a good deal of the history of the Highland Clans, together with part of the works of Ossian. That none of those books are to be found at this day, because when they [his family] were deprived of their lands, they lost their alacrity and zeal. That he is not certain what became of the parchments, but thinks that some of them were carried

away by Alexander, son of the Rev. Alexander Macdonald, and others by Ronald his son; and he saw two or three of them cut down by tailors for measures. That he remembers well that Clanronald made his father give up the red book to James Macpherson from Badenoch; that it was near as thick as a Bible, but that it was longer and broader, though not so thick in the cover. That the parchments and the red book were written in the hand in which the Gaelic used to be written of old both in Scotland and Ireland before people began to use the English hand in writing Gaelic; and that his father knew well how to read the old hand. That he himself had some of the parchments after his father's death, but that because he had not been taught to read them, and had no reason to set any value upon them, they were lost. He says that none of his forefathers had the name of Paul, but that there were two of them who were called Cathal.

He says that the red book was not written by one man, but that it was written from age to age by the family of Clan Mhuirich, who were preserving and continuing the history of the Macdonalds, and of other heads of Highland Clans.

After the above declaration was taken down, it was read to him, and he acknowledged it was right, in presence of Donald McDonald of Balronald, James M'Donald of Garyhelich, Ewan Mac Donald of Griminish, Alexander Mac Lean of Hoster, Mr. Alexander Nicolson minister of Benbecula, and Mr. Allan Mac Queen minister of North-Uist, who wrote this declaration.

his

LACHLAN X MAC VUIRICH.

mark.

RODERICK MAC NIEL, J. P.

No. XVIII.

LETTER

FROM LORD BANNATYNE TO MR. MACKENZIE,

MY DEAR SIR,

IN the Report you are preparing for the Highland Society from their Committee appointed to enquire into the nature and authenticity of the Poems given to the public by Mr. M'Pherson under the name of Ossian's, there will be occasion to refer to a set of Gaelic manuscripts, part of a collection which belonged to the M'Lachlans of Kilbride in Argyllshire, which I had accidentally been enabled to make known, and in part to bring into the possession of the Society.

Judging it might be material in that Report to make the Society acquainted with the history of that collection, and of the manner in which it fell under my observation, I gladly comply with your request in stating the little I know of its history, and the very accidental manner in which I came to be acquainted with its existence, and to be the instrument of preserving from oblivion what appears to be

the largest and most valuable collection of Gaelic manuscripts now remaining in the Highlands of Scotland.

The public are no strangers to the desire with which the late Lord Hailes was always actuated for informing himself of whatever respected the history and antiquities of this country. The course of my duty, while I was Sheriff of Bute, frequently led me to meet with his Lordship when holding the Circuit Court at Inveraray. On one of these occasions, our conversation turning on the different opinions entertained as to the authenticity of the Poems published by Mr. M'Pherson, his Lordship expressed a particular desire to know how far any Gaelic manuscripts of tolerable antiquity were preserved in the Highlands of Scotland, and particularly, whether any of them contained remains of ancient poetry connected with or similar to those which Mr. M Pherson had published.

I told his Lordship, that though the gentlemen from the remoter parts of the Highlands of whom I had made such inquiries, talked generally of the existence of manuscripts, and of their belief that some of them, and particularly one or two belonging to the family of Clanranald or the descendants of their bard, had got into the hands of Mr. McPherson, yet that I had not been fortunate enough to meet with any persons who had themselves seen or examined such manuscripts, or were able to give me an account of their nature, their supposed antiquity, or contents, excepting Dr. Hugh M'Leod, professor of church history at Glasgow, who had assured me he had seen and examined several Gaelic manuscripts, partly written upon vellum, and apparently of great antiquity, in the possession of Mr. M'Pherson, containing portions of poetry mixed with other compositions. At the same time I informed his Lordship, that I had met with many persons, and some particularly among the clergy, whose taste and judgment I could rely upon, who assured me of their having heard repeated by country

people various remains of ancient Gaelic poetry generally relative to the same class of heroes, and which they deemed no ways inferior to those translated and published by Mr. McPherson. He suggested, that I should make inquiries with regard to Gaelic manuscripts among the gentlemen then attending the Circuit. Having complied with this suggestion, I was directed to the late Mr. M'Intyre of Glenoe, who put into my hands a manuscript, which he mentioned as received from Major M'Lachlan of Kilbride, one of whose predecessors he stated to have been a dignified Ecclesiastic, I think one of the Deans of Argyle about the time of the Reformation, and whose family were said to have retained for a considerable time, a peculiar taste for Gaelic antiquities, in consequence of which they had once possessed a very large collection of Gaelic manuscripts, collected partly in Ireland, and partly in the Highlands of Scotland, and of which part still remained in the possession of Major M'Lachlan.

The manuscript thus obtained from Mr. M'Intyre being inspected by Lord Hailes, he immediately observed that the character denoted it to be of no great antiquity, probably at or a little before the Reformation.-I had its contents examined in presence of Lord Hailes, by Mr. M'Kinnon, then schoolmaster at Inveraray, afterwards minister of Glendaruel; by whom it was found to be a miscellany, containing very heterogeneous matter-a considerable part of a Popish Missal, some translations from Hippocrates and Galen, a calendar, a genealogy of the family of Argyle, and one fragment of Fingalian poetry, if my memory does not fail me, the story of Gealchossa. This manuscript was returned to Mr. M'Intyre, and I do not know if it can be now found.-Remembering, however, this incident, when the Highland Society entered on that investigation, the result of which you are now kindly giving