behind him by the prince of Scottish bards would have been so far overlooked, or despised, as not to obtain the same advantage? I have not Mr Lhoyd's Archæologia Britannica by me at present, but remember, I think, perfectly well, that in the catalogue he gives of the Irish manuscripts in the duke of Chandos's library, there is one which gives, in verse, an account of the exploits performed by Fingal, Gaul, Oscar, &c. and may perhaps be much the same with the works of Ossian. I am, with the highest esteem and respect, Dear Sir, Your most obedient, and much obliged humble servant, JOHN MACPHERSON. 6. From Mr ANGUS MAC NEILL, Minister of Hovemore, dated Hovemore in South Uist, 23d December 1763. REV. DEAR BROTHER, I was favoured a considerable time since with your very genteel letter concerning the ancient Gaelic poems lately translated and published by Mr Macpherson the poet, and would, long before now, have made some sort of return to it, but that I deferred it from time to time in hopes to collect proper materials to answer your queries; but I have the dissatisfaction to find, that the success of my enquiries on the subject you proposed, has fallen greatly short of my expectations. However, if the few following hints will be of any use, they are at your service. In answer then to your enquiries, please know that though I do not remember to have seen any manuscripts, or written copies, of the original of any of these poems myself; yet the elder Clanranald declared, before another clergyman and myself, that he had himself transcribed above one hundred pages of a large ancient manuscript which treated of the wars of Fingal and Comhal his father; which manuscript has been carried over to Ireland some time ago by a worthless person, in a clandestine manner, and is now, it is thought, irrecoverably lost; but the transcript, he directed Mr Macpherson, when on his tour through the Highlands, to recover out of the hands of one Donald M'Donald, late merchant in the Luckenbooths, Edinburgh, who had got it, though not from Clanranald, with a view to publish it along with some other Gaelic pieces. Mr McDonald of Demisdale, a parishioner of mine, declared before me that he remembers to have seen and read, a considerable part of the said ancient manuscript; and rehearsed from memory, before me, some passages of it that agreed exactly with the translation, viz. the terms of peace proposed by Morla in Swaran's name to Cuchullin ; Fing. Book ii. p. 26. Likewise, Fingal's orders for raising his standards, his orders to his chiefs before the battle, the chiefs resolutions thereupon of fighting each of them a Lochlin chief; contained in pages 57 and 58 of Fingal, book iv. He concluded with rehearsing the description of the single combat between Fingal and Swaran, which in the original is expressed in the strongest language, and perfectly agreed with the translation, which is very just here and in all the other places I had occasion to compare. The passage alluded to, is Fingal, book v. page 62. The next I examined was one Archibald McLellan, likewise a parishioner of mine, who repeated before me, in Gaelic, Ossian's account of his own courtship of Everallin at the lake of Lego, without any material variation C 2 from the translation; Fingal, book iv. pages 49, 50, and 51. Neil M'Murrich, a native of this country, who with his predecessors for nineteen generations back have been the bards and historians of the family of Clanranald, (it being customary with every Highland family of note to have bards and historians of old,) repeated before me the whole of the poem of Darthula, or Clan-Usnoch, with few variations from the translation, which he declared he saw and read, together with many more, in a manuscript which underwent the same fate with the manuscript already made mention of. Declared also, that he is of opinion, the last poem in the collection, Berrathon, is contained in a manuscript which I myself saw him deliver, with three or four more, to Mr Macpherson, when he was in this country, and for which Mr Macpherson gave him a missive, oblig ing himself to restore it, which shows that in the opinion of both, the manuscript contained something of great importance. John Ossian is yet alive in Harris, and was to be transported to the Isle of Sky, as I was credibly informed, to be examined by Mr James Nicolson, minister of Durinish, otherwise I would have got him examined. Though all that I have above offered will, I fear, be of little consequence towards promoting your undertaking; yet I hope that other Highlanders, better qualified for the purpose, will furnish you with as many testimonies, for the authenticity of these poems, as will enable you to establish with the world the credit due to them. As your concern for truth and for the honour of your country, justly entitle you to the thanks and good wishes of all your countrymen, be pleased to accept of mine, and believe that I am, with great esteem, Reverend dear brother, Your affectionate brother, and most obedient servant, ANGUS MAC NEILL. From Mr NIEL MACLEOD, Minister of Ross, dated REV. DEAR BROTHER, I received your favour of the 5th of October some time in November last, and I would have acknowledged it long ago if I did not expect to find more satisfactory answers to your enquiries than I could give of myself. My copy of Fingal happened to be borrowed by an acquaintance at a distance; there was some time lost before I could procure another, in a place where there are but very few of them, and where the communication, especially in the winter season, is not easy or frequent. In the mean time, I employed Mr M'Tavish, minister of Morven, to whom you wrote, and who is zealous to give you all the satisfaction in his power, to transmit to you all that Mr Campbell of Octomore, an aged gentleman in his neighbourhood, knows of these poems of Ossian. This man assured me, that, in his younger days, he heard Fingal repeated very frequently in the original, just as Mr Macpherson has translated it. He lived then in the island of Ila: I employed some of my friends there to enquire whether this poem is still exant there, but without success. I was informed also, that a man who died in this island about fifteen years ago, had a manuscript of the poems of Ossian. I wrote to a nephew of his, into whose hands that man's books and papers have fallen, but have had no answer hitherto. I soon will; and if this manuscript can be got, you shall have as particular an account of it as I can give you. I examined all the persons in this or the other parishes in Mull, who have any poems in Gaelic of Fingal, or his heroes. There are still a great many of them handed down by tradition; but they are of that kind that Mr Macpherson, I think judici. ously rejects, as Irish imitations of the works of Ossian. One Angus Fletcher, a sherriff-officer, was here about two days ago at my desire, he can repeat many of these poems, but none of those Mr Macpherson has translated, except a part of the poem entitled, the Battle of Lora, and that very much corrupted. But from my own memory, I can assure you, that Morla's proposal to Cuchullin, Fingal, b. i. p. 26, with Cuchullin's answer, and Morla's reply, is a just translation. So is the whole episode of Borbar and Faineasolis, Fingal, b. iii. p. 45 and 46, and Fingal, b. iv. p. 57 and 58, from "we reared the sun beams," &c. to 66 now like a hundred different winds." I can still repeat some of these in the original. The whole poem of Dar-thula I have frequently heard, but I remember no part of it. All these, and many more, I heard in the Island of Sky, when I was a little boy, from an old man who used to repeat them to me for some tobacco, which I procured him as often as I wanted to hear them. This man died when I was but very young, and I could never since meet with any person that could repeat so many of the poems of Ossian, or so perfectly. I am sorry I cannot give you or the public any more satisfaction on this point, Had such an enquiry been made fifty years sooner, I am persuaded hundreds could attest that Mr Macpherson's translations are really what they pretend to be. With sincere esteem, I am Your affectionate brother, and most humble servant, NEIL MACLEOD, |