qualifications in a poet. What a pity it is, that Mr. Shaw has not condefcended to fav our us with this pretty smooth piece of compofition; and thereby prove himself to be as great a favourite of the Mufes, as he tells us he is a lover of truth! But there was no great occafion for producing the poem. Mr. Shaw asfures us, it is good; and he is a gentleman of too much konour and veracity, to fufpect that his word would be called in queftion. Had Milton, Dryden, Pope, and the rest of thofe foolish poets, taken the fame precaution, and given us their WORDS, in place of their WORKS, for their being good poets; it might have faved their me. mories from thofe cenfures, which have fometimes been pronounced against them. "I have in my posfeffion a finall collection "of Galic poems, which I have been preparing, "(for I alfo was about to be a translator!) I "have made up a fort of a poem of fome length, "from thefe few ftanzas, entirely different from "Mr. Smith's, only that we both retain the fa"me Dargo as our mutual hero. If fale could "be exfpected for them, I fhould find it no "difficult matter, in my notes, to give fpeci"mens of the original and I am fure, I would avoid "avoid giving those I received from the people, "because they cannot bear a translation. And "indeed Mr. Smith gives us not thofe of the "old poet, but those he made from his English "original; the local phrafeology, and the forced "ftrain of which, to any discerning reader, point "out the impofition. In fhort, Mr. Smith's and "my little poem both retain the fame name of "Dargo, have received none of the incredible. "and marvellous feats of the few original lines, "and are each of them as different from it, "and from one another, as, perhaps, the fer"mons would be, which he and I might write "upon one text." P. 47, 48. "Mr. Shaw proclaims himself a firm friend to truth, through the whole of his pamphlet; and tells us repeatedly, that "he would defpife him"felf, were he capable of fupporting an untruth." Yet we fee, from the above paffage, that want of Jale for his works was the only thing, that prevented him from publifhing what he calls forge ries. I heartily agree with Mr. Shaw, that Mr. Smith's translation of Dargo and his would be very different poems. "Had I been ignorant of the Galic, lefs cre"dit might be exfpected to my narration of facts; "but 1 "but having written a grammatical Analyfis "and a Dictionary of it, it may be readily be"lieved, I should rejoice to have it in my pow"er to produce the originals of thefe poems "to the public, as the Dictionary and Grammar "might, perhaps, be fought after, to help the "curious in forming fome opinion of the ori"ginal. Thus it would be my intereft, "fupport the authenticity, did I think it hon"eft." P. 53. to a Why fhould more credit be given to Highlander's narration of facts, than that of any other perfon? I believe I have as much of the amor patrie as Mr. Shaw; yet I would not prefume to fay, that another man was not to be credited as foon as a Highlander. Through almost every page of his pamphlet, he is conftantly cautioning the reader, not to believe a Highlander, even upon oath; and produces inftances, where even clergymen offered to depone to a lie: yet here we fee him claiming credit to his asfertions, merely from his being a Highlander. As to the facrifice of intereft, faid here to have been made to truth, it is, like the reft, without any foundation. Mr. Shaw fold the property of his Grammar, a few (g). months months after its first publication, and had ne farther concern with the fale. Mr. Jamefon, the proprietor, published a fecond edition at four fhillings, after Mr. Shaw had taken in as many fubfcribers as he could, at 10 s. 6d. If he exfpected fale for the Dictionary, it must have been in England; as he knew, it could hot fell, where the language was understood. We have seen, in every inftance where Mr. Shaw appeals to facts, he has been, on the most unquestionable evidence, completely convicted as an impoftor and a violator of truth. But there is ftill another evidence, which we mean to adduce, whofe teftimony will not probably be taken on any other fubject, but on that under confideration. This evidence is Mr. Shaw himself, whom we fhall now call to the bar of the public. 1 SHAW SHAW contra SHAW. Extracts from Mr. Shaw's Analyfis. Extracts from Mr. Shaw's Inquiry. AN inundation of Barba- IN the mean time I did not rians from the northern parts forget MSS. Since I could not find the poems in the mouths of the people, I con cluded, if they exfifted at all, that Mr. Mac herfon must have found them in MSS. but as I knew, the Earfe was never written, I began to defpair, and to doubt, P. 58. 4 There are not, however, By many it has been said, wanting, at this day, proofs that the fimilies of Offian are fufficient to shew, the Gael taken from so remote a pewere once a very confider- riod of fociety, as to be a able people. As late as the ftrong proof of the antiquiRoman invafion, all that ty of the poen. I grant, part of Britain, north of the fimilies in general are the Tweed and Solway Frith, from nature. And why? Be with feveral counties of South Britain, and all Ireland, with the adjacent if lands, was inhabited by the Gael. P. vii. All caufe the country defcribed as the fcene of action at this day, and its inhabitants, are in fome degree but einerging from a ftate of nature. |